Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“Hunter Yun Gaho! Wh-where are you going?”

Lee Kang-to, who had been following me in a daze, grabbed my skirt tightly.

“Didn’t you make a map? Don’t you know? It’s Cheonyojeon.”

“But that’s where the king is!”

“That’s why we’re going.”

In my palm, the amber button given by the court lady glinted in the moonlight.

“Even if we leave here, we should use all the cards we’ve been dealt, shouldn’t we?”

The Sixth Princess promised to take care of the fallen guards, so there was no need to rush too much. Still, to be safe, I climbed onto the roof to avoid prying eyes.

“I’ll have to endure some discomfort, but with this button, I can have free access to the king.”

Though I hadn’t explained my conversation with the court lady, Lee Kang-to understood my words perfectly. He said he’d follow wearing his invisibility cloak, so I nodded.

“Later, if you wh-whistle again, I’ll take care of everyone around.”

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”

“You’re planning to approach under the guise of serving him and extract information, right?”

“Yes. And I want to see if the king really has contracted the plague.”

If what the princess saw was correct, the king must be using some special technique or item to conceal the plague flowers. With Explorer’s Eye, it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out his method.

‘If I can’t figure it out, I can always call Kalia with the monocle.’

Thinking of the monocle reminded me of the ring the princess was wearing.

I wish I could have done something about it before leaving. There was no way to do it without alerting the owner of that red magical power. In a situation where we couldn’t afford to create unnecessary trouble, I couldn’t act carelessly.

Pushing aside my regrets, I was about to descend from the roof when Lee Kang-to called out to me.

“H-how about we use it one more time?”

“Please include the subject when you speak, Hunter Lee Kang-to.”

“The Modern Person’s Education strategy!”

Does he mean we should lie to the king like we did to the princess? He’s the kind of person who abandoned his infant daughter in a river; I doubt he’d bat an eye at such a story.

Sensing that I was about to refuse, Lee Kang-to suddenly covered my mouth.

“Not exactly the same as before. This time it’s version 3.”

“Quickly remove that hand! You’ll transfer bad energy to the dark Mr. Kim!”

“Y-you cooperate too.”

The goblin, suddenly called upon, wrinkled its nose. Its expression was so similar to Cha Taeyang’s that I couldn’t help but laugh, despite the situation.

“Hmph! Why should I side with Mr. Kim?”

“You think I’m doing this because I want to? I’m proposing a strategic alliance because we need clothes appropriate for the TPO. Cooperate!”

From what he’s saying, it seems he wants to use the goblin’s talents. But with him cutting off the beginning and end like that, I couldn’t understand at all.

I tapped Lee Kang-to’s arm, which had strayed into an argument with the goblin while trying to explain the plan to me. It was getting uncomfortable to breathe.

“Ah, s-sorry!”

“Let’s get back to the point. What’s this version 3 that you need to use talents for?”

“I told you I saw a king play yesterday afternoon, right?”

“Yes, you did.”

Lee Kang-to suddenly clasped his hands as if in prayer, his eyes shining frighteningly. A well-founded sense of unease brushed along my spine.

‘This eccentric, what kind of trouble is he planning now…’

“Let’s put on a grim reaper play!”

Surprisingly, he says our current situation closely resembles the mask play he saw. Lee Kang-to clung to me, saying we should recreate that play, thinking it’s fate.

“Let go. You’re heavy.”

Though his words were eloquent, I could see right through his attempt to fulfill his personal desires during the mission. It’s not easy for a person to be this consistent.

‘Well, he does have a weakness for all things dark and gloomy, so he’d probably like being a grim reaper too.’

Aside from a bit of incredulity and vexation, it wasn’t a bad plan.

From what I’ve heard so far, the king of On is greedy and weak to desire. This type usually never wants to let go of what they have. Of course, their attachment to life is also strong.

Such a person, having contracted the plague, must be trembling in fear even if he doesn’t show it. The fact that he’s summoning physicians even through lies is proof of that.

‘If we set the mood right, there’s a high chance he’ll fall for it hook, line, and sinker.’

Sensing with uncanny intuition that I was considering it positively, Lee Kang-to voluntarily started emptying his inventory. This is a gray mist bead, that’s a mood-lifting Mattattabi for humans, and this is… All sorts of odds and ends came pouring out.

“Alright. Let’s adopt that plan of yours, Hunter Lee Kang-to.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It seems fine. Can you help us, Sori?”

“If it’s Mr. Kim’s request, that’s nothing!”

Thinking I had agreed because of his barrage of items, Lee Kang-to kept trying to offer more things. It’s a bit mean to dash his hopes, but…

“Let’s have just me act as the grim reaper.”

“Whaaat?”

“It’s better that way if we want to fabricate and instigate.”

“Why, why are you leaving me out again? Do you dislike me, Hunter Yun Gaho?”

Well, um. When you ask like that, I’m at a loss for words. Even as he shouted why I couldn’t answer right away, Lee Kang-to’s eyebrows drooped down as if he was about to cry.

Seeing him look like a drenched puppy made me even more determined to carry out the plan without him. Because, you see…

“Hunter Lee Kang-to is too full of life to imitate a grim reaper.”

“That’s the reason?”

“Your expression is too gentle too. Though he only does despicable things, he’s still the king of a country. If we’re going to pull off this con, we need to do it properly.”

No matter how much Lee Kang-to tries to set the mood, with that face, it would only look like a ‘play’. Then all our efforts in attempting this strategy would be in vain.

“Can’t you ch-change your face with that talent?”

“I can’t! Even if I could, I wouldn’t do it for you!”

“Tch, how useless.”

“What did you say?”

As they were about to start fighting again, I stepped between them. This happens every time I let my guard down. I patted Lee Kang-to’s shoulder, who was pouting heavily, trying to soothe him.

“Something even more interesting than the grim reaper play is going to happen soon. We’ll definitely do that together.”

“M-more than this?”

Lee Kang-to, honest in his desires, gulped audibly.

Yeah, I knew you’d fall for it. I smiled, my eyes curving, hoping to appear meaningful.

“Yes, much more.”

“Could you tell me more detai—”

Ding— Just as I was wondering how much more to say, my Hunter Watch rang. Since Shin-ju had replied immediately after sending, this must be a message from Cha Taeyang.

“Just a moment.”

[- Sender: Cha Taeyang

Yes! Give it a try (ง •_•)ง

Oh, but it’s still a secret from Sori!]

The sun sets earlier in the mountains, but he’s still not asleep. Enjoying Lee Kang-to’s impatient gaze, I slowly sent a reply.

“So what kind of beautiful event is it? Huh?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you suddenly. I’m sorry, but it’s still a secret.”

“That’s not fair! It’s unfair!”

“Life is unfair by nature.”

Unfortunately, Lee Kang-to’s priority was far behind. What can I do if the joker of this game doesn’t want it?

I bowed my head in apology and jumped down to the ground.

“Are you going to stay up there?”

“…Coming!”

At least my bait seemed to work, as Lee Kang-to obediently followed behind me. As we approached Cheonyojeon, he put on his stealth item without being told.

“Who goes there?”

“I was told showing this would suffice.”

The palace servants of Cheonyojeon were wary of someone appearing in the middle of the night, but as soon as I showed the button, they immediately let me in. Seeing them even show signs of welcoming me, I wondered if the court lady who gave me this was quite a high-ranking person.

“His Majesty is looking for someone to serve him wine right now. Get ready quickly and come out.”

They said there were usually many complicated procedures, but since I had already gone through the simplified procedures when meeting the princess, I just needed to do some grooming before coming out.

‘No, even if it’s to meet the king, isn’t this too lax?’

I kept thinking this the whole time I was changing out of my thick winter clothes into new ones, but I couldn’t understand. What if I were an assassin coming to take the king’s life…

‘They must have some kind of safeguard.’

Maybe there’s a shadow warrior hiding in the ceiling of the room, or perhaps the king was born with an invincible constitution. As I was making these baseless speculations and half-heartedly applying makeup, I heard the door of the adjacent room open.

Then, voices of people came through the wall.

“If it weren’t for that woman, we’d have been in big trouble. If we don’t bring what he wants on time, he starts swinging his sword right away. I can’t even count how many innocent people have died by his blade.”

The NPCs, unaware of how good an awakened person’s hearing is, chatted carelessly.

“And his standards are so high! On top of that, he won’t even look at a woman he’s touched once. Finding a woman to serve him every day is like plucking stars from the sky.”

“But a Player is a bit…”

“Oh, stop worrying. He’s asked for wine to be brought for two shichen straight. He wouldn’t recognize if we brought in a dog instead of a person!”

“With the plague and his temper, there’s never a peaceful day. We really need to get out of the palace soon.”

Hmm, so he’ll be in a drunken state? There couldn’t be more welcome news. I wasn’t confident in my acting skills, but with the situation set up like this, it seemed doable.

“If I play my cards right, I might be able to pass this off as a dream.”

This conversation also made me understand to some extent the strange attitude of the palace servants. It’s no wonder they were welcoming, given how difficult it is to find a woman to the king’s liking, and I just happened to appear.

These people, who have seen the king’s atrocities up close more than anyone, probably have no loyalty left. They’re just thinking about getting through today’s work safely and going home.

“If there are only people like this in the palace, I won’t have to worry about running into anyone troublesome who might be lurking around.”

I had a good feeling that things were going to go very smoothly.