MRPO:07

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CHAPTER:07

My body floated off the ground, and the surrounding scenery whizzed past.

He was incredibly strong. Even holding me with just one arm, he didn’t seem to struggle at all, moving with effortless grace.

Impressive. A man really does need to be strong.

“It is safe up to this point. I will scout ahead again, so please keep your distance and follow me.”

“Right, okay.”

Kalion set me down on the ground and pushed forward through the thick brush once more.

But with so many obstacles around, I couldn’t help but worry he might miss a monster hiding nearby.

*Rustle.*

The moment the thought crossed my mind, an ominous sound echoed.

Talk about speaking of the devil. A sudden quest isn’t about to pop up again, is it?

But unlike me, who tensed up at the sound of the rustling bushes, Kalion didn’t assume a combat stance at all.

“Kalion. Um, the bushes over there just rustled…”

“It is not a monster.”

It was a concise reply, but far from enough to explain what was going on.

If it’s not a monster, then what is it? A person?

Just as the thought crossed my mind, a loud *thud* rang out, and a massive tree opposite us split right down the middle with a sharp *crack*.

“Eek!”

A monster was standing behind the tree.

No, it had the shape of a human, but the dramatic entrance was so terrifying that I instinctively chickened out and scrambled behind Kalion’s back.

Did he split a tree with sheer strength? Is he even human?

“What’s this, Kalion? You’re perfectly fine.”

A voice rang out. It was a deep, robust man’s voice.

“You sent out a signal acting like you were on your deathbed, so I thought you were gravely injured. Was it just a dramatic act?”

“…There were circumstances.”

Their speech turned informal. They clearly knew each other.

*So, an ally?*

The man strode closer.

Hidden in the tree’s shadow, he had seemed like a dark silhouette, but as he stepped into the light, his dazzlingly brilliant red hair caught my eye.

*Whoa. He’s huge…*

He was about the same height as Kalion, but his build was much broader.

Unlike Kalion, who was clad in silver armor, this guy had his hair loose and his clothes disheveled… It was a ridiculously exposed look for wandering a dangerous, monster-infested mountain.

*I guess when your muscles act as armor, you don’t need real ones.*

If Kalion was like a winter mountain, this man was like a blazing wildfire.

Perhaps it was due to his red hair and golden eyes, but his prominent brow and fierce gaze made him look so formidable that I would have believed him if he said he was a fire spirit.

“Kalion. What’s that behind you?”

Calling a person “what” is a bit rude, isn’t it?

*Well, he seems to be Kalion’s acquaintance, so I probably won’t be in any danger.*

I poked my head out slightly from behind Kalion’s back.

“Uh…”

The man froze the moment he saw me.

His expression looked as if he had just laid eyes on something he absolutely shouldn’t have.

*Do I look that terrible? Or is it because he’s never seen Kalion with a woman before?*

Whatever it was, his reaction was far from welcoming. Because of that, I missed the perfect window to introduce myself.

Just as we were about to engage in an unintentional staring contest, Kalion stepped slightly to the side to intervene.

“We crossed paths on the mountain. She lost her memory after collapsing in an accident, so I was about to escort her to the nearest village.”

“…Lost her memory?”

The man’s voice pitched up, dripping with skepticism.

I suppose it sounds like a textbook excuse from a highly suspicious stranger. I would have thought the same if our positions were reversed, so I couldn’t really blame him.

I was ready to dive right back behind Kalion if he started interrogating or attacking me, but the man merely rubbed the back of his neck in apparent awkwardness and looked away.

*As long as he doesn’t want to fight, I can relax for now.*

When I looked at Kalion, he seemed to realize his oversight and introduced the man to me.

“Forgive my late introduction, Juin. This is Senes, my older brother.”

The last part of his sentence caught me completely off guard.

*His brother? They don’t look alike at all.*

Aside from the fact that they were both incredibly handsome, everything from their hair color to their physical builds was completely different. I had to wonder how on earth their parents’ genes had been divided up.

It seemed Senes was also a monster hunter. Despite being brothers, they didn’t hunt together, preferring to operate independently and only sending distress signals during emergencies.

Judging by the circumstances, Kalion must have sent a distress signal to Senes when he was attacked and gravely wounded by monsters yesterday.

Though I wasn’t sure what use a rescue signal sent yesterday was when he only arrived today.

Regardless, since I had been introduced, I had to greet him. I put on my polite, corporate-friendly smile—a mask I hadn’t worn in quite some time.

Or at least, I tried to.

“I see. Senes, it’s nice to—”

“Who gave you permission to act like his master?”

This guy was picking a fight out of nowhere.

“Excuse me?”

“Kalion’s master? You? By what right?”

Ah. So that was it.

“Excuse me, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not acting like his master. My name is literally ‘Juin’. That’s why he calls me that.”

“Your name? Your name is Juin?”

“Yes.”

“…Why on earth is that your name?”

Senes’s expression turned sour, one of his eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

Did you contribute a single cent to naming me?

You know, your name would sound incredibly bizarre if you dropped into South Korea, too.

“Anyway, so you’re not Kalion’s master.”

Senes let out a displeased sigh, clearly still unsatisfied, and turned to Kalion.

“So, Kalion, you aren’t injured?”

He didn’t even apologize to me before changing the subject. I already had a pretty good grasp on his personality.

Kalion hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded.

It seemed he was keeping quiet to avoid exposing my healing abilities, which would happen if he mentioned I had treated his wounds.

“It was simply my first time traveling while protecting someone, so I became flustered and made a mistake, brother. There were no other issues.”

“Sure, there might not have been any problems for *you*.”

That sounded suspiciously like he thought I was the problem.

*More importantly, aren’t you going to apologize for picking a fight over my name?*

Left with a terrible first impression, I glared at Senes, and our eyes clashed.

His fierce expression made me flinch for a second, but I refused to back down and glared right back.

With a soft chime, a window popped up between Senes and me.

Current Waiting Members: (1/1)

A party invite has been received. Do you wish to accept?

Instead of apologizing, why the hell is he sending a party invite? Is he kidding me?

Dumbfounded, I stared at Senes, but he immediately averted his gaze.

*Why isn’t there a decline button on this?*

When using my healing skill, a ‘Yes/No’ prompt had popped up, but this party invitation only had an ‘Accept’ button.

Is this some sort of “rejection is not an option” kind of deal?

*Well, I refuse to accept!*

I swiped the system window to the side. If there wasn’t a decline button, I could just ignore it without accepting.

I am not hitting that accept button until you apologize.

“Anyway, Kalion. Does this mean the three of us are going down the mountain together now?”

“Yes. Now that my brother is here, we can support Juin as we walk. It is a relief.”

Relief my foot. I have absolutely no interest in joining a party with a rude jerk like him!

I tried to signal Kalion with my eyes, wishing he would be the one to support me if anyone did, but Senes cut me off immediately.

“Support? Are you injured? You look perfectly fine on the outside.”

“She seems to have a weak constitution and tires easily.”

“I was asking Juin, not you.”

He then turned his gaze back to me.

Why was he picking a fight again? Because I didn’t accept his party invite?

“I don’t need anyone’s support. Let’s just go.”

“Go where? You look like you’re about to collapse if you take even a single step.”

Didn’t you literally just say I looked fine on the outside?

“I am perfectly fine, thank you very much.”

“Lack of sleep. Lack of exercise. You also seem to be suffering from a severe nutritional imbalance. And your feet look swollen.”

Senes sighed and pulled out a small pouch from his coat.

Before I could even wonder if that was an inventory bag too, a pot and cooking utensils materialized with a loud *poof*.

…Wait. Cooking utensils?

“Recovering your strength with some food comes first. Kalion, take out all the ingredients you have.”

He’s going to cook here? Is he out of his mind?

“I only have emergency rations. It would be better to use yours, brother.”

“Fine, then. Go fetch some water instead. There’s a spring below the cliff.”

“Brother. What about the monsters nearby…?”

“I cleared out everything in the vicinity, so we’ll be safe for the time being.”

“I see. Understood.”

Completely unfazed by this absurd situation, Kalion slipped past the bushes to fetch water.

*…I guess this is just normal here.*

Whether I was dumbfounded or not, Senes endlessly pulled pouches of ingredients from his inventory.

Why on earth was a monster hunter carrying so many cooking ingredients?

*Is he actually a chef in disguise?*

Then again, even in a zombie apocalypse, people would still make cheese ramen and tteokbokki, so of course there would be chefs in a world like this.

*I seriously can’t tell what genre this world is.*

Is it some weird hybrid of survival, adventure, and a dash of romance? If this were a game, I’d honestly love to ask the developers who their target demographic was.

*Well, he certainly looks like he knows what he’s doing.*

Without a moment’s pause, Senes swiftly prepped the ingredients. His hands looked rough and calloused, fit only for combat, yet his movements were surprisingly delicate and meticulous.

Having chopped and added the ingredients with a skill level reminiscent of a world-class chef, Senes pulled something red from his pouch.

*A gem?*

No, it looked too raw to be a gem, but too translucent and brilliant to be a mere stone.

Holding the stone—which was about half the size of my fist—with both hands, Senes snapped it clean in half.

*…He broke a stone? With his bare hands?*

Immediately, a fire flared up beneath the pot.

“F-Fire!”

This crazy bastard is starting a fire in the middle of a mountain. Is he insane? What if he starts a forest fire?!

Panicking, I frantically began kicking away the dry leaves and twigs on the ground, but Senes barked at me in exasperation.

“Sit still, will you? I’m the one cooking, so why are you the one making a scene?”

“No, the fire! It’s dangerous if it spreads!”

“It won’t spread. I used a mana crystal.”