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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: American Monster Extermination Request (1)
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Chirp-chirp—
Warm sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting faint shadows.
And from the gaps, the chirping of birds drifted in.
Lee Yuri was sleeping soundly on the bed, looking content.
"...!?"
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.
Lee Yuri shot up in bed, her expression bewildered, and quickly scanned her surroundings.
"This is… my room...?"
The simple, unadorned room, reflecting her lack of interest or passion in decorating.
It was her utterly familiar room.
'Ah, I must have fainted after the test.'
A light of realization dawned in Lee Yuri's eyes.
Memories from the day before flickered through her mind.
—Give up.
That blunt, obnoxious woman, Jin Yu-ha's master.
Lee Yuri had charged at her all day long.
She kept repeating like a parrot that Lee Yuri had no talent and should give up. So, in a fit of pique, Lee Yuri charged one last time…
And then.
And then.
"…Ah."
A sigh of regret escaped her lips.
"I…"
Thud—
She let her body fall back onto the bed.
The soft pillow sank, cradling her head.
"I failed."
Right, she had lost consciousness after blocking that attack, so there was no way she could have passed.
As she grasped the situation, a hollow feeling and a sense of futility filled her chest.
To have tried so desperately, only for the result to be a failure.
"Now, I can't be with everyone anymore…?"
As the words left her lips,
reality hit her hard.
Kang Do-hee, always confident and overflowing with self-assurance, someone Lee Yuri admired and wished to emulate.
Shin Se-hee, whose first impression was a little gloomy, but who inspired admiration with her flawless work and impeccable support.
Senior Gaeul, who sometimes seemed a bit lacking, but always showed her kindness with a warm smile.
Sophia, who seamlessly blended into the party with her unique cheerfulness and a bright, lively aura as vibrant as her hair color.
And even Ichika, the party's newest member.
She would no longer be able to be with them.
And…
"Jin Yu-ha."
As his name left her lips,
tears welled up instantly.
"I really wanted to stay with you until the end…"
But she couldn't.
Of course, Jin Yu-ha wouldn't give up on her.
Even if she told him the test results, he would surely offer an awkward smile and encourage her, saying it was a shame about the test but they should continue to work together.
Because he was that kind of foolish guy.
But she didn't deserve such kindness.
Rub-rub—
Lee Yuri rubbed her eyes with her forearm, wiping away her tears.
"I need to prepare to leave as quietly as possible, as if I was never here."
Only then would she be able to leave.
If Jin Yu-ha tried to stop her, she wasn't sure she could resist.
"…Ha."
Lee Yuri turned her gaze, looking around the room.
She had received so much from Utopia during her time there.
"I guess I'll have to return everything I received here…"
Because when her successor, the next tank, came in, she would have to hand it over to them.
"Then, first, I'll find a separate house for my family, and gradually move my belongings out. And… is there a way to return the spatial tattoo? And the items inside it…"
She was mentally organizing the things she would leave behind, and opening her spatial tattoo, when she paused.
"Huh…?"
Looking into the spatial dimension that had opened in the air,
something felt off, unusual.
"What is it…?"
Lee Yuri tilted her head, confused.
"Where is it…?"
She reached her hand into the spatial dimension and began to rummage, as if it couldn't possibly be missing.
Her rummaging hands grew increasingly frantic and anxious.
Rattle, rattle, rattle—
Thud. Clunk. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Finally, Lee Yuri upended her spatial tattoo, spilling out all its contents.
"Why, why isn't it here…?"
Hunter gear like emergency kits, ropes, a hunting knife, and fire steel.
And all sorts of Lee Yuri's personal trinkets.
But the item she was looking for wasn't there, no matter how many times she scrutinized the pile.
It truly wasn't there.
The most important, and most expensive item.
A possession that was practically her life.
Lee Yuri's number one treasure, which she polished several times a day until it gleamed.
"My, my shield, where is it!!! Where did it go!!!!"
The moment she uttered that panicked cry, a single scene flashed vividly in her mind.
CRASH—!
The earth-shattering roar that erupted as her shield met Instructor Baek Seol-hee's downward strike echoed through the air.
At the same time.
Crack-crack-crack—
An ominous sound that should not have been heard.
And the hairline crack that appeared on the main body of her cross-shaped shield.
CRASH—!!
The scene of the shield completely shattering into tiny fragments played back in slow motion in her mind.
"Kyaaaaaaaah—!!!!"
Lee Yuri clutched her head and screamed.
"Th-that, that was s-so expensive—!!!!!"
Then.
Was she.
Still with her family's debts remaining.
Without a home or place to stay.
Expelled from Utopia.
And now incurring a new, enormous debt, amounting to hundreds of millions…?
"…"
It was then.
Burst—!
Hearing her scream, Jin Yu-ha rushed in, opening the door with an anxious face.
"Gukbap! What's wrong?!"
"J-Jin Yu-ha…"
Her eyes devoid of light, she looked at him and spoke.
"M-my shield. My shield… H-how am I ever going to pay for that now… What kind of work do I even do…?"
Thinking she was now expelled from Utopia, and on top of that, had incurred a massive new debt, Lee Yuri's sorrow suddenly exploded. Her face contorted as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"What, what am I going to do now…!!!"
* * *
'…Huh?'
Listening to Lee Yuri's lament, I couldn't help but make a dumbfounded face.
'What in the world is she talking about?'
I heard a scream from Lee Yuri's room, so I rushed in, thinking something might be wrong with her due to an unexpected rank ascension…
But what she was saying was utterly absurd.
"I, I really wanted to disappear quietly… But now, now I can't even disappear quietly… Now we'll meet as debtor and creditor, not as comrades…"
Hic—
Hic—
Lee Yuri hiccupped, her voice thick with sorrow.
"S-surely… Even though we were once comrades, you wouldn't charge interest, would you…?"
I mean, to see Lee Yuri's tears, which were barely visible even in the latter half of her personal story in the original work, two days in a row like this…
This is truly rare…
No, that's not it.
"No, why would you disappear? And what do you mean 'once comrades'?"
As I countered her words,
Gukbap bit her lip tightly, her expression once again welling up with emotion.
"You, you… Yes, you would say that. I knew it. I knew it, but…"
"Tell me. Why are you disappearing?"
Lee Yuri spun around on the bed, turning her back.
Her back, curled up like a pill bug, wrapped tightly in her blanket.
"…Because I failed."
She spoke in a voice so small it was almost a whisper.
"What…?"
"I didn't pass!! That instructor test, I'm the only one! The only one who failed! So, I have to leave Utopia now, and I even broke that expensive shield!"
When I asked again, Lee Yuri squeezed her eyes shut and cried out, as if confessing.
"What am I going to do to make a living now? Can I really go back to a life of minimum wage part-time manual labor? Ah, no. Still, I have the name value of being from Utopia. If I work as a mercenary tank, there will be places that look for me… Yes, if I just put on a thick skin, then I'll be fine…!"
Her voice, speaking rapidly as if in confession, began to mix with a heavy dose of confusion, anxiety, and nervousness.
A light of realization dawned in my eyes as I listened to her.
'Ah, Gukbap. She still doesn't know she passed…?'
So, Lee Yuri, even after achieving the ridiculous feat of rank ascension on her own,
thought she had failed.
Watching her tremble, I felt a slightly wicked feeling slowly creeping up inside me.
'This is, like, so much fun…?'
I immediately hardened my expression, making it serious, and patted her shoulder.
"Hmm, I see. You couldn't pass Master's test? Then, I guess we can't work together anymore."
When I drew such a sharp line, Lee Yuri spun around, looking at me with a bewildered expression.
It seemed she expected me to try to stop her a few more times if she said she was leaving.
"…Jin Yu-ha?"
I solidified my serious expression and nodded.
"…And you even broke the shield I gave you as a gift. Ha… That was expensive. Hmm, yes. You're right. No matter how close we are, financial matters need to be handled thoroughly."
"…"
"Still, we've spent time together, so I won't charge excessive interest. The legal interest rate should be fair, right?"
"T-the legal interest rate."
Lee Yuri's pupils trembled, as if she never expected me to say something like that.
"Ah, right. Then how about this? Instead of leaving entirely, how about working as the tank for our sub-party, unpaid?"
"S-sub-party…?"
Even her voice began to tremble.
"Yes, as Utopia grows, we'll eventually run a second party. You can take the tank position there. Unpaid, though."
"S-sub-party tank… Then, I'll have to receive pitying looks from the others every day… And unpaid, on top of that…"
"Still, the treatment and pay will be much better than working as a tank elsewhere. After all, we're Utopia."
Lee Yuri's eyes went dead, like a fresh graduate who had just tasted the bitter chill of modern society.
I patted her shoulder again and said,
"Still, you have to pay off your debt, right?"
I tapped on my phone, pretending to search for something.
"Let's see, the price of a Cross Shield is…"
"I-I'll do it! I-I'll join the sub-party!"
"Good, you thought well. Now, there's somewhere we need to go together. Get ready."
I stood up, straightening my collar.
"Where are we going…?"
"We need to report the changes in Utopia to Director Lina."
"…Director?"
"Yes, our Utopia receives quite special treatment. It's mandatory to report such matters. Oh, and Ichika just joined, so let's take her with us."
"…"
Lee Yuri looked at me with resentful eyes, as if asking what kind of situation involved taking both a new recruit and someone being discharged.
'Well, in reality, we're going to get Lee Yuri's shield and Ichika's tattoo.'
Lee Yuri's current reaction was too amusing to pass up,
I smirked inwardly and turned my head, pretending not to notice.
"Let's go. Get ready quickly, Miss Lee Yuri."
I said, my voice chillingly calm.
"...!!!"
At the formal address, which felt like a deliberate drawing of a line, Lee Yuri bit her lip, her expression welling up with emotion.
"N-not even Gukbap-i, but 'Lee Yuri, Miss'…"