SSS-Class Hunter is Going to Rest - Chapter 92



Only Krnovel

Episode 92 Towards the 100th Floor (5)
2024.06.17.

Suzy glanced at the spot where Nature’s hand had passed.

She had thought that even the slightest handshake had been bothering her lately, but she didn’t care at all with Nature.

“I like it too. Talking to Nature. But is there anything that concerns you?”

When she asked, Nature sighed deeply and sat down on Suzy’s armrest, resting her arms on the back of the chair.

“It would be a lie if I said I had no concerns. Daphne, what do you think?”

“How? What?”

“Me.”

It was a statement that could be interpreted in many ways depending on how you heard it.

However, Suzy understood his question perfectly.

From the 83rd floor to the 85th floor. Nature had been struggling ever since she joined the team.

“Well.”

It was a new question.

Suzy picked up a few strands of her hair that had fallen down to her waist and braided them with her fingertips, thinking about her answer.

The gap between team members was inevitable, and it had to be tolerated to some extent. However, when that gap exceeds a certain level, it becomes toxic rather than helpful to the team.

That must be what Nature was asking.

Suzy had no intention of telling unnecessary lies.

Even when they were catching the 85th floor Black Smoker, the team members had a hard time covering up Nature’s slow reactions.

She spoke the answer that had been organized in her mind.

“I think Nature is having a hard time right now, but I think she’ll gradually adapt. Our teamwork is getting better. You can’t adapt all at once, right?”

Nature lifted Suzy’s braided hair and tangled it with a thoughtful expression.

“I didn’t join the team to hold them back.”

“I know.”

“I came because I wanted to be helpful.”

“It’s helping enough. If I adapt, I’ll be more helpful.”

“… … I’m honestly not sure if I can adapt.”

Suzy blinked her eyes and leaned her head against the back of her chair, looking up. Then, Nature’s eyes met mine.

He was smiling mischievously as always, but his eyebrows between his blond hair were drooping and forming a figure eight.

He was the one who came to help the team, but he looked so gloomy.

She spoke soothingly.

“Why are you saying that?”

“Because I’m no help to a Saint who is lower in rank than me. This is the first time I’ve seen my skills fall so far behind, and honestly, I’m bewildered.”

“Saint is Saint, and Nature is Nature.”

“That’s true.”

It wasn’t something Saint would be happy to hear.

Suzy glanced back at her playing chess in the back seat, then looked back up at Nature.

“What do you want to do, Nature?”

“… … I think we need to improve our weapons.”

Suzy let out a small sigh at the words he had barely managed to say.

They were right. In a situation where they were fighting together, if everyone else’s weapons were tier 10 and hers were tier 9, it would be natural to blame the performance of her main weapon.

She was already thinking that it would be nice to be able to give Nature a tier 10 weapon someday.

“Take it slow. Most overseas dungeons are around floor 70, so it shouldn’t be that hard. I’ll push Nature when the first reward comes out.”

“If you say that much… … But how are you going to get tier 10 items that way?”

“If you keep going, you’ll have more chances to collect three tier 9 items. You can get the first reward from multiple countries.”

“But you guys got them in one place, the Tower of the Sage. How did you do it?”

It was almost like she was interrogating me.

I felt a strange feeling somewhere. It was

n’t because I was really curious, but because she seemed to be trying to dig up something.

“There’s the luck stat, right?”

“Oh. The updated one?”

“Yes, it’s thanks to that stat. “ I think luck plays a big role when you draw random boxes.”

“I see. Me too.”

“Again?”

“I thought it was because of the 〈Laurel〉. I heard the reward was pretty good. How many rewards did Daphne get, Daphne? One? Two?”

Nature’s eyes sparkled strangely as she spoke.

She didn’t seem like she was simply talking about the item reward.

‘Does she know that you saw the future of the apocalypse? If she already knows, why are you asking like this?’

Every single one of them was suspicious.

Hunters never ignored their premonitions. Especially when they believed in their own abilities.

Suzy glanced around.

The plane was the epitome of peace. The plane, cruising steadily at a high altitude, didn’t even shake. The only sounds you could hear were the occasional grumbling between Peace and Saint or the noise of chess pieces being moved.

And the logs of the ‘Great Beings’ were quickly going up in the status window.

There was something.

Definitely.

Suzy tried to get up from her seat, but Nature remained in that position and didn’t move.

“Nature. Why are you doing this?”

“What am I doing?”

“… … You’re acting strangely right now.”

“I’ve never acted strangely. It’s all for your sake.”

As she said that, Nature took out a small dagger that she might have been hiding from someone for some time from her sleeve and held it in her hand.

She noticed it quickly.

He must have been talking to her for so long in order to completely block Suzy’s movements, knowing that the gap in their strength was enormous.

Suzy, who realized why he had been talking so closely, glanced down at the dagger aimed at her neck, unable to say anything in frustration. She

knew that no matter what tier of dagger it was, it would stab her neck if Suzy moved even slightly.

“… … Nature, what are you doing? Seriously.”

She saw Nature take a deep breath.

Suzy was more annoyed by the situation itself than scared.

The reason she had accepted Nature as a team member despite Elaine’s opposition was because she trusted him. She could see that he was really working hard.

But… … What is this?

“You must have gotten a call from Priya.”

Suzy shut her eyes tightly when the name Priya came out of his mouth.

She was shocked.

Also, she thought it was the “Messiah.”

Whether they worshipped the end of the world or a group that turned their backs on all of humanity in order to survive alone… … She wished they would just leave her alone.

“Nature. Do you think this is a threat?”

She asked in a dejected tone, muttering.

Even if she couldn’t take out a single item, it was even stranger that Sooji couldn’t defeat Nature with her bare hands.

She was that much. An SSS-class Hunter.

“But what if I were like Zero?”

“… … Right now.”

“How would you feel if I were to burn in front of you like Zero, Daphne?”

It felt really horrible to hear those words from the kind and cheerful face that I thought I knew so well.

I didn’t want to recall the scene like this, and it was even worse that he was the one who threatened me.

“What are you trying to do now? What is your purpose?”

“Change the port of call.”

“… … Where?”

“To where Priya is.”

Sooji laughed in vain.

Priya had a way of handling things really dirtyly.

It was like this from the beginning.

She would hang around my father, get on his nerves, and then use Nature.

Why are all the followers of so blind?

“You’re not even getting paid to join, you’re saying you’re paying to join. What on earth are you trying to gain by doing all this? Eternal life? Is that really what you want?”

“Can’t you hope for it?”

It was obvious when you looked at the flow of things, but it was even more shocking when you confirmed that Nature was the “Messiah.”

“Not everyone is on our side.”

At that moment, Suji’s eyes, which had been staring at the tip of the sword that Nature had placed against her neck, trembled.

Elaine’s voice that she had heard on the 82nd floor rang in her ears.

Thinking back now, it felt like he already knew Nature’s true identity. Is n’t

it?

Was it too much of an exaggeration? What if Elaine knew everything and gave a warning? “What are you going to do, Daphne? It’s good for you too. Really. That’s why I came forward. Don’t doubt me and trust me just this once.” It was the moment when he whispered softly as if he was a lover. Crunch! At that moment, the plane shook violently. As if he had encountered turbulence, the aircraft vibrated violently with a force completely different from the calm ride he had been in. If he were a normal person, not a hunter, he would have fallen flat on his face. As if Nature hadn’t expected it, the tip of his sword shook. A momentary gap. That was all he needed.

Suzy grabbed the tip of the dagger with two fingers and threw it far away, then struck his chest hard with her elbow. With no means of intimidation, the two had different reaction speeds. The match was almost decided.

With one blow, Nature’s body was stuck between two chairs.

Suzy grabbed Nature’s collar and lifted her, narrowing her eyes and looking in the direction of the captain’s room. A familiar shadow was faintly visible beyond the curtain.