"Hyaeyoung-ssi?"
"Yes, Jihye-ssi. Please listen to what I have to say."
"Go with Kiyoung-ssi."
"Pardon?"
"I believe it would be advantageous to make things more convenient for people like Kiyoung-ssi in various ways. Not just today, but going forward as well."
"I'm not sure what you mean...."
"The decision is all yours, Hyaeyoung-ssi. You can do whatever you think is manageable. I don't care if you're just a pack mule... Ah! You wouldn't make a bad handmaid."
"......."
"That last bit was just a joke. But thinking about it seriously might not be a bad idea.... The situation here isn't that good. Not only are we lacking in rations, but there are a limited number of people who can go hunting. Hyunsung-ssi has been helping us by disposing of the monsters around here regularly, but who knows what the future holds. The reality is that we can't afford to make assumptions about the future. We have to think about the possibility that the men who go hunting might die and never come back, and ask ourselves what we would do afterwards."
"......."
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to get acquainted with a capable man. Don't you think it's better for people like us to take out an insurance policy? If things go well, you never know what might happen. Perhaps you could get special treatment like Jung Hayan-ssi...."
"I see what you mean."
"Ah! There's a rumour that they'll be taking Hayan-ssi out on the next hunt. Wouldn't it be a good idea for Hyaeyoung-ssi to give it a try?"
"Thank you for giving me so much advice, but... is there a reason you're being so nice to me?"
"Well. It's just a passing fancy. But if things go well, I'd like you to return the favour. I'm not the kind of person who likes to gamble."
* * *
'Shitty bitch.'
Lee Jihye, that fucking bitch.
She continued to curse out Lee Jihye internally, not that it changed anything.
After all, she had been the one to make the mistake. Rather, everything had been her choice to begin with.
Both agreeing with Lee Jihye's words and following Lee Kiyoung as a guinea pig, everything had been done with the expectation that it would work out.
She had done something stupid right off the bat and had made up her mind to make up for the mistake.
Pushing herself to seem like a useful person by wielding a spear had been a huge blunder.
Unbeknownst to her, the scream that had then erupted from her mouth had been an even greater mistake.
She could see Lee Kiyoung and Park Deokgu continuing forward before her.
Lee Kiyoung never stopped chanting spells aloud and Park Deokgu rebuffed the monsters lunging at them with his huge shield.
Maybe because of her fear, her legs felt wobbly, but naturally, collapsing was out of the question.
'I'll die.'
She knew that she would die if she stopped running.
Glancing to the side, she saw that Jung Hayan was also following behind, muttering quietly to herself.
'Idiot....'
She was lucky enough to catch Lee Kiyoung's eye, and lucky enough to gain her current position amongst this group.
