Chapter 3-4 – My Childhood Friend Is Top Ranker III-IV

The guild home of [Chomok] Stood proudly on a street frequented by people within the first floor of the Brass Tower.

Perhaps because of Guild's taste, there were a lot of vines tangled around the entrance, so it looked like a green hotel that went well with the grass.

'Big. As expected, it is part of the six major guilds. So much wealth that they're building a hotel for guild members in the tower?'

It's a building you'd see in a tourist destination like Florida.

The entrance was clean, and I thought it was the right place to carry the body.

Suddenly..

"Who is there? Who was wandering around the entrance earlier?"

"Ah."

Like the tower entrance, there is a heavily armed gatekeeper here as well.

The sight of me carrying a large bag on my back must be suspicious.

Even when I look at it, I look suspicious, so what's going on over there?

"I asked, Who is it?" 

"Well, what do you mean? I'm a partner who has business here. This is the Vegetation Guild, right? I have some business to do, so I'm thinking of going in... Is that okay?"

"Are you an independent hunter? I'm sorry, but you can't go in. Can't you see inside? I'm in the middle of a toast to the guild home we rented out to celebrate our capture of the Tower of Brass. I've just been told not to let outsiders in today."

"Someone went in through the back door earlier."

"Are you talking about the reporters from outside? They are customers who had appointments made several days in advance, so there is nothing we can do. They said they are not taking any requests today, so unless it's a big deal, come back tonight or tomorrow."

I'm getting annoyed.

As I was looking inside the guild home earlier, everyone was toasting, but the gaurd seemed to be in a bad mood as he was guarding the entrance alone.

Is that it? Something like a gatekeeper on duty?

"I also have a situation. I would like to finish it today, if possible."

"What's going on?"

"That's…"

From the looks of it, it wasn't someone I couldn't communicate with. Although he was irritable, he seemed like a person who was faithful to his work, so I told the story honestly.

Then he pressed his eyes and sighed.

"I see… Did he die in a place like that?"

"Did you know someone?"

"He was a new recruit who had recently arrived. He had good spirit, but he didn't listen well, which was a bit of a problem, but he wasn't a bad guy."

"Why did he climb alone?"

"As usual, he didn't listen to your superiors. Everyone warned him not to climb the tower alone."

"Is that so?"

Ha.

The gatekeeper, who was quite old, seemed to have shaken off his discomfort and opened the door.

"It's okay. There's nothing we can do in that situation. I don't know who it is, but I can't ask them to keep someone else's body. There's someone in the lounge, so if you talk to them, they'll take care of it."

"Thank you."

"Thank you; I'm grateful for the guild member's body recovery, but be careful not to get caught inside. Everyone taking isn't as cheerfully as I am."

He said that I understood and entered the lounge.

After all, he is a good person.

'Oh, it's really spacious. Is this place like a modern-day royal castle?'

The salty sound of bottles crashing into each other and the laughter of people laughing out loud never ceases. In the corner of the spacious lounge, a TV program that aired this morning is playing. Their proud guild master was praised by the MC on the other side of the video, and the guild members looked at it and made a fuss, saying they had accomplished it.

'It seems really tactless to get involved in this kind of atmosphere.'

I regretted it because I thought it would be better to just leave the body unattended, but it was too late.

"Hello, sir. What brought you here?"

"Well, that's…"

The woman in charge of reception and guidance in the lounge approached.

I had an awkward expression.

I couldn't help it.

Guild rules told not to let outsiders in, but the guy carrying this burden came in right away, so it's embarrassing.

-Hey, that.

-You're a scavenger.

-Why is that guy here?

-No way.

As I was dazed, my gaze eventually wandered.

Damn. They have good sense.

Why do I come here if I don't give it to others?

First, I put an iron plate on my face, walked towards the reception desk, carried it on my back, and explained the situation.

"A corpse? That's our guild member?"

"Yes."

"That can't be right. It was right after the official notice came down today, so the guild master directly ordered all guild members to gather together and have a drink today, so no one would climb the tower.

The female office worker seemed to have sensed the atmosphere and quietly muttered. However, it was true that there was a corpse, so she hurriedly turned to the brass tower and immediately looked surprised.

"Ah…"

It seems there was one person.

Just like the gatekeeper said, he must have been someone who didn't listen to anything.

"Can I check for a moment?"

"As much as you want."

As I stepped behind her, she identified the body I was carrying wrapped in an envelope. As soon as she saw the face, she recognized who it was and even spit out her name.

Although he was a newcomer, he seemed to be a promising figure. The surrounding laughter subsided slightly, and a few hunters who noticed what was happening got out of their seats.

'Did I ruin the mood?'

However, as the gatekeeper said, once I picked up the body, I couldn't keep it.

"Confirmed. He was our new member."

"… Really?"

"Wait a minute, this guy is the guy Gilma recruited last time."

"Fuck Ana~!"

"I heard he had great skills. Why did such a promising kid die in brass tower?!"

"Don't be damned, really!"

Eventually, hunters who were familiar with him approached.

Everyone was in an unusual mood.

There is no mood to talk about compensation through the association. No matter how much I am, I know how to read the atmosphere.

'It's hot. It opened. I just have to jump right away.'

If I just go now, will they be impressed as a good person who moved the body of a colleague?

It was the moment I put my bag in my item pocket and awkwardly said, "Then I'm leaving." And turned my back.

"Wait, you bastard!"

Oh fuck.

"What happened?"

"Where did you get this body from?"

'You damn bastard. When did you start speaking informally just because you saw it?'

"Where is it? It's the Brass Tower."

"I asked you because I don't know!? On what floor, and how did he happen to die?"

"35th floor. He died in the Ogre Cave. There were many corpses around, so it looks like he died after hitting each other."

"You're lying?"

"There's no way he could have been defeated by that weakling! This guy was still a promising prospect!"

'Is he trying to frame me?'

I tried to go my own way again, saying I didn't know, but my shoulder was grabbed again.

"What is it? ?"

"Tell me straight. Are you sure he died from this bastard ogre?"

"Then what? What do you want to say?"

"You're that bastard, right? A hyena that goes around picking up corpses. A live corpse bastard that goes around picking up a strangely large number of corpses."

"Let's talk about it. Why keep wagging my baby? Do you know?"

"Are you an alpha? The kid I was raising got hurt! Could you fucking do it?"

"Wait a minute. I know what you're trying to say, but let's not cross the line. Am I crazy enough to put my hands on that guild member?"

"…"

His mouth stopped.

The atmosphere is unusual.

There was a strong smell of alcohol behind the hand holding my shoulder.

I have been through a lot of mud.

"Is there any reason not to?"

"Yes?"

"You E and D rank bastards are all crying out that we have conquered the top this time. Is there any reason why those bastards can't catch a newbie from the top?"

In the end, he crossed the line.

The fever rose to the top of my head.

"Oh, look at this guy. He's gone crazy after having a drink. How dare you accuse someone of being a murderer, you idiot?"

"Fuck, if you're a bastard running around this tower, you're a trash bastard picking up corpses that no one knows about! Tell me, did you steal something from my kid?!"

"Oh my gosh. You were suspicious that I killed someone, but this time you're treating me like a thief?! And what kind of bastard are you? You keep getting angry, you fucking bastard! If you tease me, why don't you search for my body?"

"You damn bastard!"

I understood in my head that I shouldn't respond to this kind of criticism, but I also had a low boiling point.

Asshole bastard. So, you don't get burned.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Crazy, calm down!"

"No matter what, that went too far!"

"Let go of this! Jumma, that's the bastard I was in charge of! But you said they attacked you today, so can you just sit still?"

"I understand your heart, but the street address is wrong, man!"

"How dare you get so drunk?"

"No, but I think there is a point. That guy is a scavenger. In any case, the murder may have touched our child's body, so shouldn't we check it?"

"That's right. It's okay to talk about a murderer, but what's wrong with checking whether the body was robbed?"

"Hey, I brought someone with me, so why are you saying that?"

"Did we say something wrong?"

"Let's not do that. Why are you doing this on this beautiful day?"

Fortunately, I didn't get hit or anything like that.

When the opponent tried to stab me, the guild members stopped him. On the other hand, when I tried to build up my pride, they also stopped me, and we ended up confronting each other, creating a buzz around us.

 In the meantime, an argument broke out between those who were harsh and those who suspected that I had stolen the body.

It's corpse hair; I would have done it if it wasn't vegetation.

So just for today, fuck it, I'm proud.

"Oh, you bastards~! I heard this place has a good reputation, so I threw away my crew and moved here with a smile, but you're still talking like that? Are you coming? I'll fill all my pockets here, so just watch. If nothing comes out of this, then all the bastards who called me a thief will be put to shame.

 "Fuck it!"

"Where did the dog come to the guild of others and lose it? Do you think I don't know where you hide it?"

"How? At first, you treated me like a murderer, but now you're trying to prove that I didn't steal the body, so you change your story again? Why are you so mean? I didn't do anything wrong, so why do I have to be treated like this!?"

"So, even if that bastard wasn't the one to hunt around there! You know all these guys! Don't you?!"

"That's true, but... The tower isn't necessarily safe. We all know that it's a place where accidents can happen."

"Ah, but if I were to say that I was the type of person who would fall behind an ogre again, I don't have the skills to do so, so what can I say?"

"That's right. You were a candidate for an executive position."

"The Scavenger's reputation is also not trustworthy at all."

"But isn't that going too far?"

"That's right. Even if it were done, it would only be like hair from a corpse. What does murder mean?"

"It's because he is drunk. Let's all calm down."

"To suddenly accuse someone of being a murderer is really crossing the line."

"That's right. What kind of indecent behavior is this in front of guests? If Gilma catches you doing something like this, it's really—"

-It's crunching.

It was time for someone to say something like that.

"──You guys, what is this fuss about?"

Once inside, a husky voice of unknown gender echoed through the hall.

「「「」….「」「」

That one word was a signal of silence.

Everyone opened their mouths and said 'Ah' and someone hiccuped.

The doorbell on the main door of the guild hall jingled, and a man with an obviously feminine appearance appeared in the lounge.

"Guild master…"

"What is this atmosphere? What is it? Weren't you having a drink while I was being interviewed?"

"Oh, no… That's…"

The face of the guild member who was holding my shoulder turned blue, and his senses returned as if the alcohol had gone away.

Is Gilma scary on a topic that has been a mess?

… It's not unreasonable.

He is Song Seong after all.

A great man of fire who ranked 9th in the current hunter rankings.

He was dressed in a coat and with a face that looked like a woman. No matter how I looked at him, he looked at me and the robber in turn, making a puzzled expression.

"… What. Are you a guest?"

"Yes."

"Ceres clearly told us not to accept outsiders today. What is wrong with the guild atmosphere? What is it? Is it because this person did something?"

"It's not that I committed it... There were many things that happened."

"What do you mean?"

He looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

Then I stopped asking questions.

"…"

He was staring at me.

I wondered if I had done something unpleasant, but that wasn't the case.

"It looks like a face I've seen before somewhere..."

"Oh, that's him."

"What is that?"

"Scavenger."

"Scavenger? Ah, that person who is ranked D but got a nickname~?"

"Yes… Yes…"

"Why is someone like that here? Oh, who is your friend, and who invited you? No. We were supposed to have toast with our guild today. I wanted to be comfortable with you all, so I told Ceres to issue such an official letter, but what happens to other people?"

"…"

"What, you know that?"

Nod.

"Ah, these kids, really. I can tell from the atmosphere. What did you guys do to get excited?"

"A little."

"A little?"

"I'm sorry… I'll explain the situation now."

"No, it's okay. I'll hear the story later. More than that…"

Song Seong came closer and stood in front of me.

His height is much shorter than mine. He came closer and looked, but the short and boyish feeling was still there.

He tilted his head as if something were strange and then spun around me.

"Your face is also burned."

'Why do I care about my burns?'

'Did you get something on your face?'

The irritation from just now had gone away, and as I was feeling nervous like a guild interview, he poked me in the face.

"I only know your second name, so maybe your name is..."

"This is Changgi. Hong Chang."

"A person from Seol?"

"Yes."

"Uh… Uh, huh?"

When he heard my name, his body shook.

I was nervous that I might explode because I was being selfish, but that wasn't the reason.

"Well, this might be an impolite question. Did you get burned while saving a friend when you were young?"

"… Huh?"

"Ahh~! Look at your reaction! Is it really you!?"

The world has become brighter.

No, he was smiling broadly.

"It's you, right?! ─You are real Hong Chang!!"

Come on!

He hugged me.

With that small body, he wrapped his arms around my neck and pushed his pretty forehead.

"Ugh?! What is this all of a sudden?"

"Well, it's me! It's me, Song Seong, who you saved back then! Did you forget about me?"

"Uh huh…?"

Uhhhhh?

Wait, what's going on?

Why does this person know me?

"Wow~! It's been a while, hey!! What have you been doing so far!?"

"Are you really Song Seong?"

"Then~! Are there two Seongyeons in the world?"

"Huhhh~!?"

An unexpected escape.

Perhaps it was the same for the other person, who couldn't hide his joy and kept hugging him.

The new star of the hunter world, whom I thought was a person with the same name, was truly a childhood friend of mine.