VHN 9

I had already finished contemplating how to convince Joo Seo-won. There was no way for Joo Seo-won to verify anything I said right now, and if I introduced them later, he wouldn’t get too angry about the little white lie, right?

‘And who cares if he gets angry then?’

And thankfully, Joo Min-ha was very much alive. Just living in another world.

Joo Seo-won’s brow furrowed at my words. Yeah, I didn’t expect him to believe me right away.

‘But when it comes to information warfare, I have a much bigger advantage.’

I quickly scanned the information about Joo Seo-won and Joo Min-ha in my head and blurted it out.

“Joo Seo-won. You lost your younger sister in a Maze Dungeon two years ago. You tried so many times to find her, but the Dungeon closed, and you were the only one who made it out, right? It’s no use denying it. That’s what Min-ha told me.”

“…What?”

“There’s a nine-year age gap between you and Min-ha… You were raised by your Grandmother, so you practically took care of Min-ha yourself. Min-ha is grateful. Min-ha’s childhood dream was to be a pilot because she liked anime with airplanes. Right? Want me to tell you what Min-ha looks like?”

“…You.”

“She looks a lot like you. Though, of course, she’s much prettier than you. Don’t get the wrong idea; I’m not that crazy.”

Joo Seo-won’s expression slowly twisted. But I was running out of material. Joo Min-ha was just a supporting character who appeared in one important episode. Even if I squeezed that episode dry, the story between them was only this much.

So, I had to push through while he was confused.

“That’s why I came here to find you…. Huh? How else would I have found you? I’m just a scrub with no Tracking skill.”

‘How else would I have found you? I took a taxi and drove around in circles until I ran into you.’

I mentally corrected myself while still maintaining a smile. Alright, it’s about time for him to come around.

But at that moment, I was grabbed by the collar again and slammed against the wall. Joo Seo-won, still gripping my collar tightly, shouted in a low voice with a face that looked like he was about to cry.

“Then why did you come instead of Min-ha? Why only you!”

‘Ah, this is impossible.’

Damn it. I was already getting tired.

* * *

Joo Seo-won almost blew a fuse a dozen times, but I exercised superhuman patience and was satisfied with subduing him and throwing him onto the sofa. He kept lunging at me whenever I opened my mouth, so other than punching him in the gut to get him to come to his senses, it was a humane approach. This would be more effective than slapping him in the face.

I got hit a few times in the process, but thankfully, it wasn’t with murderous intent, so I wasn’t going to die. It was more surprising that Joo Seo-won was still okay even after I hit him with considerable force. Was it true that the overall strength of the body increased after Awakening as a Hunter?

In my original world, that level of force would have knocked out a man of similar build, but he was fine. It made me realize how overpowered Hunter ranks were.

‘Does this mean I can’t rely on hand-to-hand combat anymore?’

Joo Seo-won, still perfectly fine after getting beaten, looked at me and said.

“What’s your skill…? Is it something like subduing? Damn, why are you so strong?”

“I just learned some basic self-defense.”

“Self-defense? Self-defense? Who would even attack you? That guy must be out of his mind.”

He was talking about himself. I was speechless. Joo Seo-won seemed to notice my expression, coughed awkwardly a few times, and turned his head away.

“Isn’t this enough hits for you?”

“Are you kidding…? You hit me way more.”

“You threw the first punch, so it was self-defense.”

Jerk. He was spacing out. My words were too logical for him to argue with.

Anyway, it had taken more time than I thought. Without hesitation, I rummaged through Joo Seo-won’s bag on the floor and found something.

“Hey, who’s doing whatever they want… Fine, whatever.”

I thought I heard a resigned voice from behind, but I ignored it.

Anyway, I took out a contract from Joo Seo-won’s bag. The Oath of Trust. An A-rank Item, where if you made a contract with it, you had to abide by the contract unconditionally. If you didn’t, the price was death.

But the grim oath was, of course, just a showy contract that wasn’t very useful. At least, that was the case for Joo Seo-won.

That was because Joo Seo-won had another A-rank skill besides Tracking.

[ Blind Spot of Trust (A) ]

It was a type of mental skill, a cheat skill that could completely circumvent any contract with the other party. It wasn’t just used for contracts; it was a versatile skill that could also be used for things like incitement.

But the immediate usefulness wasn’t what mattered. What was important to me was making Joo Seo-won trust me.

I placed the Oath of Trust on the table in front of the sofa where Joo Seo-won was sitting.

“Let’s make a contract. I need you.”

Joo Seo-won stared at the oath for a moment before looking up. I met his gaze and continued.

“There are a lot of things that need to be fulfilled to go to the world where Joo Min-ha is. There are so many things to prepare for. I’ll cooperate. So you can find your sister.”

“…Why would you?”

I smiled at Joo Seo-won.

“Because I need you.”

“What do you want me to do? I won’t do anything too difficult….”

What did I want him to do? It was already decided, of course.

“Tracking.”

“Ha, that’s easy enough.”

“…Including surveillance and information gathering. Not just one or two things, but about quite a few people and Gates. And wherever I go, you have to come with me if I ask. Oh, and move your place. So I don’t have to waste time looking for you like this. You live in a crappy place anyway.”

“What? Hey!”

“And don’t take any requests other than mine from now on.”

“Are you crazy? How did I end up with a guy like this? Did I live my life so badly that I’m being punished….”

At first, his eyes said, “That’s easy enough,” but as my words piled up one by one, his gaze changed to one that saw me as a completely insane bastard. His arrogant eyes glared at me with hostility, but it seemed certain that he would make the contract. Joo Seo-won was that desperate.

After a while, Joo Seo-won got up from the sofa and stood directly in front of me.

“Are you going to provide a place to live?”

“Yeah. Not right now, though. It’ll take you some time to move out anyway.”

“Ha…. I’ll try to move out quickly. Just wait a month.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Move out within a week.”

“What? Hey, you crazy bastard!”

A month? He was talking nonsense. I stared at Joo Seo-won with a dumbfounded look, and Joo Seo-won was looking at me like I was crazy too.

“Hey, do you think it’s easy to find the next tenant? Are you kidding me? Do you think houses sell as soon as you put them on the market?”

“Should I reduce it to three days?”

“…Give me a week.”

Yeah. He should have said that from the start. I ignored Joo Seo-won, who was still glaring at me, and wrote the oath with a pen that was rolling around on the desk.

This oath is based on mutual trust, and whoever violates that trust shall surely die.

Ignoring the first line, which was written like a warning, I continued to write the contract.

1. Joo Seo-won shall unconditionally cooperate with Seo Je-hyun’s requests.

“You crazy bastard! Damn it. This isn’t right!”

As I moved the pen to write the next line, Joo Seo-won hurriedly snatched the pen from my hand. He then took the Oath of Trust and turned away from me as if guarding it.

“Hey! I’ll, I’ll write it. Are you kidding me? Are you trying to make me a slave?”

“You’re not going to unconditionally cooperate?”

“Of course not! Do you have a problem with your head? You might tell me to go into an S-Class Dungeon, what am I supposed to believe in? Not that you would!”

‘Hmm. He’s quick on the uptake.’

I wasn’t just going to send Joo Seo-won in, but I would have to go into an S-Class Dungeon someday. When I didn’t deny it and remained silent, Joo Seo-won’s voice became uneasy.

“…Would you?”

When I just shrugged, Joo Seo-won’s expression turned fierce. He had a cheat skill to circumvent it anyway, why was he being so sensitive?

“Add below that you have to guarantee my safety.”

“…Do you happen to have a skill that nullifies contracts?”

He was asking for too much from an F-rank. I chuckled, and Joo Seo-won reluctantly added the next line.

1. Joo Seo-won shall unconditionally cooperate with Seo Je-hyun’s requests.

However, Seo Je-hyun guarantees Joo Seo-won’s safety.

“And you write that you’ll cooperate in finding my sister.”

At my words, Joo Seo-won still looked at me suspiciously before reluctantly writing the next line.

2. Seo Je-hyun shall spare no informational and physical cooperation to find Joo Seo-won’s younger sister, Joo Min-ha, and shall prioritize Joo Min-ha’s safety and rescue.

“You’re writing it so meticulously.”

“Haven’t you ever made a contract? Who makes a contract like you?”

There was nothing else to add anyway. Joo Seo-won signed the Oath of Trust and handed it to me. As soon as I finished signing as well, the oath flashed and was absorbed into our bodies.

“…That’s amazing.”

The oath that had been absorbed into my body remained on the side of my index finger like an italic tattoo. Joo Seo-won asked with a strange expression at my reaction.

“Did you know what this was before you did it?”

“The Oath of Trust. It’s an A-rank Item. You die if you break the contract.”

“You did that so easily…. What are you trying to do? Anyway, this tattoo will disappear if it’s terminated by mutual agreement or if the contract is fully fulfilled.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

“…So, where’s my sister?”

Joo Seo-won asked with expectant eyes. I answered nonchalantly.

“Oh, she’s not on Earth.”

“…You son of a bitch! You’re a scammer!”

Ah, this is impossible again.