These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me
Chapter 147

"What?"

Eden looked at Han Do-gyul, taken aback. But Han Do-gyul didn’t waver, keeping his eyes fixed on Park Yoon-sung. Even at his young age, he understood how important Park Yoon-sung’s decision was.

"Hmm…"

Park Yoon-sung let out a low groan and stroked his chin. He had never imagined that Han Yi-jin would go so far as to drug his cherished younger brother with suspicious substances just to escape.

Was it that he hadn’t cared for his younger brother as much as Park Yoon-sung had believed or was it something else entirely? Park Yoon-sung, who had slowly opened his bleary eyes, paused his thoughts for a moment at the relentless gaze fixed on him.

"Hey, are you crazy? Do you have any idea how far Han Yi-jin went to stop a brat like you from going into the dungeon, huh?"

Eden didn’t like Han Do-gyul much. The kid always ignored him whenever they interacted, and it was frustrating as hell. But this brat was Han Yi-jin’s younger brother. Eden, who had been with Han Yi-jin since their days in the Loki Guild, knew better than anyone how desperately he had fought to get his brother back.

Han Yi-jin couldn’t stand the thought of his younger brother entering a dangerous dungeon. That’s why he had taken part in more raids than anyone else—and ended up getting hurt over and over. There was no way he could send Han Do-gyul into a dungeon. Eden gritted his teeth.

"You stay out of this."

However, Eden was silenced by Han Do-gyul’s words, as if a skill had been used to mute him. When Eden glared at him with anger in his eyes, Han Do-gyul arrogantly turned his head away.

"I’m not like those other idiots. I can protect my hyung. Even if you say no, I’ll go on my own."

"Eup…!"

"Sigh…"

The problem was that Han Do-gyul’s bold words weren’t just empty promises. Han Do-gyul was the only S-rank hunter in the country with mental-type skill. Park Yoon-sung, who had watched Han Do-gyul’s training, knew better than anyone that his ability was far from ordinary.

Even now, if Park Yoon-sung opposed him, Han Do-gyul would likely use his skill to escape the accommodation and probably go straight to where Han Yi-jin was. The only ones who could resist Han Do-gyul’s mental skill were Kang Yoo-hyun and the SS-rank boss monster in the dungeon. After a moment of hesitation, Park Yoon-sung finally spoke up.

"I understand, Hunter Han Do-gyul. But you’ll need to go with Hunter Eden over there."

"What? I don’t want to!”

"Eup… eup…!"

At the same time, both Han Do-gyul and Eden rejected the suggestion, glaring at each other. Park Yoon-sung thought they looked strangely alike in how they reacted, but he quickly kept his thoughts to himself and continued speaking.

"I’m well aware of Hunter Han Do-gyul’s ability, but in a dungeon, you can never know what might happen. Until you join the raid party, Hunter Eden will ensure your protection."

"…"

Park Yoon-sung didn’t trust people in general, but he trusted their abilities and contracts. Besides, Eden wasn’t the type to just stand by and watch Han Do-gyul, Han Yi-jin’s brother, get hurt. With his evasive skill, he could easily escape any dangerous situation. No one in the Odin Guild could help Han Do-gyul join the party safely better than Eden.

"Please take care of him. Hunter Eden."

"Eubeubeup…!"

What about his opinion? It was as if he were asking with a defiant look in his eyes, but Park Yoon-sung pretended not to notice and simply smiled.

"Tch…"

Han Do-gyul also looked dissatisfied, but knowing he had never been in a dungeon and lacked experience, he reluctantly nodded.

"…Huh?"

I have a bad feeling for a moment. Was it just my imagination? I tilted my head, then looked straight ahead again. The light from the hunters flickered in the dark tunnel.

"Oh…”

The Svartalfheim dungeon looked like an abandoned mine. The earth had been dug up to create a path, and a long tunnel had been built with bricks and wooden planks. Traces of quarrying and mining tools were everywhere.

Now that I think about it, in Norse mythology, Svartalfheim is where the dwarves live. Is that why the dungeon looks like this? I’ve seen plenty of caves, but this was my first time in a mine, and it was kind of fascinating. But it had clearly been abandoned for a long time, and there were no traces of gold or gemstones anywhere.

I’m going to be rolling in gold soon anyway, but it was still a little disappointing not even getting to see any. Instead, the sight of powerful hunters fighting together was impressive. I watched from behind as the hunters with attack skills battled.

"Excuse me."

"…"

"Hey, you!"

"Yes?"

I turned around in surprise. A hunter I'd never seen before was glaring at me with displeasure. I stared at him, puzzled.

"The battle will be over soon. Can't you move a little faster?"

"Ah…"

"Get ready to loot and prepare your temporary inventory too!"

"Ah, yes…"

I was part of the support team, a group of hunters who assisted the raid team. Since I wasn’t wearing any decent gear and my rank was average, he probably just assumed I was part of the collection team. Well, I mean, B-rank isn’t exactly that low…!

I wanted to argue, but there were just too many high-ranking hunters in the raid group. The expected rank for this dungeon was too high. I knew I’d get misunderstood like this, so I had prepared in advance. I took out the loot item I had been planning to use during the dungeon run.

It was an item specifically designed for the collection team to gather monster items faster. The claw-shaped item automatically added whatever it touched to the temporary inventory. I hummed a tune to myself as I waited for the battle to end. It was something I’d really wanted to do.

“It’s over!”

“Alright, let’s move quickly!”

“Got it!”

After the first battle ended, the eager members of the collection team rushed over and began gathering the items left by the monsters. I, too, was swept up in the crowd and looted items like crazy. This is pretty fun. As expected, grinding like this is great—it helps clear my head. I got completely absorbed in the physical labor, finally working my body after a long time.Just then, I heard voices, their whispers drifting through the air.

"Still, it's nice here since there's plenty of time to loot without Han Yi-jin."

"Yeah, in the dungeon I went to last time…"

"…!"

Some of the members of the collection team were talking about me. It seemed like I had gathered quite a lot of loot because of my auxiliary skill. I unknowingly held my breath.

"Hey, quiet down. Don’t you know the high-ranking hunters are in a bad mood because Han Yi-jin’s not here?"

"Ah, right."

"…?"

What was that supposed to mean?

I glanced at the collection team members, who had fallen silent. After gathering their share of loot, they just turned and walked away.

“…”

Those guys are in a bad mood just because I'm not here? Weren’t they the ones who actively pushed to lock me up in the accommodation because they didn’t want me around? And now they’re bothered by my absence? Isn’t that a little selfish?

“Hmph.”

I let out a snort, gathered up the items, and turned around. Just then, someone’s voice reached my ear.

"You were here"

"Huk…!"

Holy crap, it was Liam White. I looked at him in surprise.

"W-what is it?"

“Well, you disappeared as soon as we entered the dungeon, so I was wondering where you went.”

“Um, well, I’m part of the collection team, so…”

“Then, which guild are you affiliated with?”

“…”

What’s with this guy? Why is he so interested in a stranger like me? I was grateful for his help when we entered the dungeon, but I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention by hanging around with a big shot like Liam White. With his presence in a place like this, people were already making a fuss. I deliberately responded with a curt tone.

"I'm unaffiliated."

"Is that so? What's your name?"

"…Why do you want to know?"

When I looked at him warily, Liam White just smiled. He then continued to press me with more questions.

"I’m just curious. I met you outside."

"I mean, we just ran into each other near the entrance…"

"In Korea, don’t they say that if you meet someone three times in a day, it’s fate? Just one more time, and it really will be fate."

"…"

No, that only counts when you run into someone completely by chance! You're deliberately seeking me out while I'm trying to stay hidden. There's no way this is a coincidence!

I wanted to argue back, saying something like that, but I didn’t want to drag out the conversation any longer. It seemed better to just give him a random name and get him to leave. Speaking of names, I couldn’t use Han Yi-jin’s now that my appearance had changed, so I needed to come up with an alias.

I had to make sure it didn’t match any of the characters from the novel, so I needed to pick something that wouldn’t overlap. Just then, a name came to mind. It didn’t seem to belong to any character from the novel, so I casually said it without much thought.

“Ho-su, Park Ho-su.”

“Park Ho-su…”

Liam White’s eyes narrowed as he muttered the name ‘Park Ho-su' under his breath, then smiled again.

"That's a good name."

"Ah, yes."

Is it a good name? I’m not sure. I just said the name that came to mind. A sharp voice sounded in my ears as I tilted my head.

"Hey! Liam!"

"Oh, I've been caught."

Seriously, his assistant was too quick to notice. Liam White muttered softly as he looked at me.

"Then, see you next time."

"Huh…"

Is he planning to visit the collection team again? I looked at Liam White's back with a tired expression.