Housekeeper in the dungeon

Episode 23

“Ugh, I’m motion sick.”

Hee-na slipped out of her sleeping bag in Kang Jin-hyeon’s arms and gasped for fresh air.

“How can anyone think of running with a whole person if they can’t get up? And what about me, sleeping soundly, not knowing who was carrying me?

It was ridiculous no matter how she thought about it.

Hee-na sneaked a peek at Kang Jin-hyeon.

He was waiting for her with a common-sense look on his face as if he couldn’t believe he had just done something so unorthodox.

“Are all Hunters like this, or do they all lose their common sense when they reach high rank?

Even Kang Jin-hyeon, who was thought to be somewhat unruly but rational, was like this!

Maybe only strange Hunters gathered in the Blue Dragon Guild.

“That’s a shame.”

Kang jin-hyeon was also an asshole. Somehow, he knew that Hee-na was looking at him inwardly, and he opened his mouth just in time.

“If we had held on a little longer, we could have gotten to the gate.”

He was sorely disappointed that she’d woken up midway through. Well, yes, he was, because now that she was walking, it would have slowed them down considerably.

“Still, I got motion sickness, and I couldn’t do it anymore.”

Hee-Na replied with a half-truth, half-truth, and then she pulled off her apron as if to compose herself.

The knot in her apron that she had tied tightly yesterday hadn’t come undone overnight.

“I’m feeling a little better now, shall we go?”

“It would be more comfortable if I carried you.”

Hee-na cut Kang Jin-hyeon’s offer short.

“No, no. I’d get motion sickness, and besides, I might look like a lump of luggage……, but I’m not a lump of luggage.”

“That’s right.”

Kang jin-hyeon was quickly convinced by Hee-na’s explanation and started walking. As if to show consideration for Hee-na, he slowed down his pace.

Still, the difference in their heights meant that they couldn’t change their stride, so Hee-na often had to follow him in stride.

A man in dark tech gear and a woman in a yellow apron followed behind him.

It was an odd combination in the gray wilderness.

Hee-na and Kang walked in silence for about an hour without talking.

Hee-na was speechless as she struggled to keep walking on the uneven ground, and Kang was simply speechless.

“Should I have told her that I would just carry her like a piece of luggage, even if it made me feel sick and embarrassed?

I wondered regretfully.

“Wait.”

Kang jin-hyeon lowered his voice and extended his arm to block Hee-na’s path. She was about to ask what was going on, but Kang beat her to it.

“Shhh. I see a person in the distance.”

Hee-na tensed up at his serious demeanor and whispered.

“Where?”

“I don’t think you can see him, but he’s quite far away.”

It was the superpower of an S-class Hunter. My heart skipped a beat.

“Aha. Shouldn’t I go and ask her to help me then? Or help them because they might need it?”

At Hee-na’s question, Kang jin-hyeon shook his head thoughtfully.

“It’s not every day that there are people in a dungeon that’s been stabilized by dealing with boss mobs. Besides, the composition of the group is a bit suspicious.”

“Like what?”

“Two of them are wearing collars with their hands tied, and the other two are walking around armed.”

“Ah.”

It wasn’t just a little suspicious, it was a very strange configuration.

“They’re heading in the direction of the gate, too, so let’s follow them quietly for now.”

Said Kang Jin-hyeon, an S-class Hunter and dungeon expert, and Hee-na, a mere D-class housekeeper, could only come up with one opinion.

“Yes. Let’s do it.”

There was no other option but to agree.

Besides, Hee-na couldn’t see the other person anyway, so she didn’t even feel the tension of following someone.

I followed her for another 30 minutes or so. Kang jin-hyeon stopped.

“What happened this time?”

“A group of armed men joined us, apparently trying to take over the leashed men.”

“Is this some kind of…… human trafficking?”

“It looks like it.”

The affirmative answer sent a chill down my spine.

“You’re buying and selling people in a dungeon? Do you know what this is about, or rather, why?”

Hee-na’s question made Kang jin-hyeon think for a moment before he spoke up.

“Do you know that there are expensive resources buried inside the dungeon?”

“Yes. There are a lot of gems, and the materials to make items are also found there… Dungeon byproducts.”

This was basic knowledge that even Hee-Na, who had the common sense of a normal Awakened, knew.

Dungeons were dangerous, but the value of the natural resources buried within some of them was indescribable.

This was one of the reasons why the dungeons were regularly cleared and explored.

“It’s the government’s responsibility to manage the dungeon resources, but sometimes there are factions that illegally mine resources from undeclared dungeons.”

Hee-na quickly understood what Kang jin-hyeon meant.

“So, according to you, Hunter Kang, this is an undeclared dungeon, and those people are bad people doing shady things?”

“That’s right, Ms. Lee. I understand correctly.”

Kang jin-hyeon praised Hee-na as if he were looking at an outstanding student, then continued.

“They are said to illegally obtain the labor needed for resource extraction. Human trafficking through employment fraud or kidnapping.”

If that was true, Hee-na and Kang were in a very dangerous dungeon.

It wasn’t the monsters that were the problem, but the fact that they’d just been dropped into a garrison occupied by an illegal organization.

“Well, what should we do?”

Hee-Na stuttered in panic. This was a situation she had never imagined in her wildest dreams.

I never thought I’d end up in a dungeon-like this in the first place, let alone an undeclared dungeon full of criminals! I’m so unlucky.

“I have a Luck stat of 45, right?

It was enough to make Hee-Na doubt her luck.

“I think we should get out of here as quietly as possible since you might be in danger, and I’m going to report to the government that there’s an undeclared dungeon.”

Kang jin-hyeon replied calmly; he wasn’t afraid of this situation at all, just explaining that there was shit on the way and they should avoid it.

“I thought, ‘Okay. This is one of the best S-class hunters in the country, if not the world.

Hee-na suddenly realized that the person she was with was ‘the’ Kang Jin-hyeon.

‘He’s been on much more dangerous and difficult missions than this one, so it’s no wonder he can’t get me out of this place safely.

The thought calmed his pounding heart a little.

“Looks like they’re moving on, so we’ll get back on the road.”

Kang jin-hyeon urged Hee-na, who dried her mouth with nervousness and followed closely behind him.

After another 30 minutes of walking, the mountains that had seemed so far away came closer. I glanced at the map and realized that we were on the right track. If we continue walking straight up the mountain, we’ll find the dungeon gate.

“Do we still have to go in the same direction as them?”

Hee-na whispered to Kang Jin-hyeon. She secretly hoped that the paths would diverge.

But had Hee-na’s wishes ever been granted?

“Yes. They’re heading toward the mountain mouth.”

Kang Jin-hyeon’s answer was tragic. Then he added something more ominous.

“I think they have a garrison in those mountains. I see more people.”

“More people? No, you mean that mountain is a den of criminals?”

“Yes, it is. There are more armed men, and I see shabbily dressed people who seem to be under their command. They must be mining something in the mountains.”

“No……!”

Hee-Na was frustrated. If that mountain was a resource extraction site, it would be heavily guarded. How could she get past all those people without being detected?

It might have been possible for S-class Hunter Kang Jin-hyeon, but for Hee-na, a D-class Housekeeper, it seemed impossible.

“Should I just confess my ‘Home Sweet Home’ skill and ask her to go to my place?

Hee-na seriously considered revealing the skill to Kang Jin-hyun. But then she shook her head.

If she revealed her ‘Home Sweet Home’ skill here, she might be taken away by the dungeon raiding team.

“Won’t we get spotted? Don’t we need some sort of camouflage? Do you have any ideas?”

Kang Jin-hyeon touched his chin as he gestured to the yellow forsythia-colored apron she was wearing. He thought Hee-na’s outfit looked conspicuous.

“I was thinking of giving Ms. Lee an item.”

“An item?”

“A robe item that blurs your presence. It’s sometimes worn when ambushes are necessary, and it seems like she needs it right now.”

As he spoke, Kang jin-hyeon pulled out a gray robe from his inventory and handed it to her.

“Thank you.”

Hee-na gingerly put the robe on. Her forsythia-colored apron was hidden under the robe, diminishing her presence.

But there was one problem with the robe.

Hee-na, wearing the robe, called out to Kang jin-hyeon in a confused voice.

“By the way, Hunter Kang Jin-hyeon…….”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-hyeon’s voice was quiet at this point.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

……Hee-na pulled up the hem of her robe, which was dragging on the floor, and even the sleeves kept slipping down, making it difficult to hold on to the hem.

Kang jin-hyeon pointed out the problem.

“It’s not the right length.”

It was. The robe was too big and too long for Hee-na, who was taller than Kang Jin-hyeon.