"Seong-Woon, who grew up under his grandmother's care, could never bear to see someone go hungry."

‘A student who looks like they’re in high school is working without having eaten?’

Honestly, it felt more terrifying than a natural disaster. Natural disasters were events that occurred occasionally when the Earth got bored, but when a child is starving, that's a problem created by humans.

‘I can’t forgive this.’

Once a teacher, Seong-Woon now felt a heavy sense of responsibility.

"How does it taste?"

"It’s... incredibly delicious...!!"

"I'm glad to see you're enjoying it. You’re wonderful."

Seeing someone eat well like that made him happy.

‘I hope she gains at least 5 kg from this.’

There was nothing more satisfying than watching a young student eat the food you made with delight.

‘She’s eating it so happily.’

Seong-Woon didn’t notice it, but the warmth of his own feelings spread through the atmosphere of the cabin, subtly affecting the air.

Chara, who was already excited about eating this once-in-a-lifetime feast, quickly picked up on it.

‘...Huh, something feels lighter.’

It felt like the atmosphere, which had been as heavy as a hospital ICU during a funeral, had lightened up.

‘By the way, this tastes amazing...’

If Chara had been what one would call a "learned hunter," she would have been scared of this bizarre phenomenon.

She vaguely realized that this hut was a dungeon and that the owner of the dungeon might be the black cloak in front of her. However, it was rare for a dungeon to change based on the boss’s mood.

A dungeon that changes based on the boss’s mood wasn’t much different from a living organism. In other words, Chara, if she knew a little more, might have realized she was eating inside the monster's stomach.

But Chara was so overwhelmed by the miraculous kindness shown to her that she wasn’t thinking about that.

"This meal is so delicious. Is it... the rice that’s special, or did you just cook it really well?"

"The rice is ordinary."

It was rice made by drawing the packaging of rice she had eaten back on Earth. It felt a bit refreshing, like she was doing art after a long time.

‘Anyway, nothing beats making food to ease their nerves.’

In fact, it didn’t seem like it was just for the kids. Thanks to the portrait’s influence, even those who were afraid of Gio seemed to relax a little once they received a tasty treat. It seemed to have a similar effect.

Seong-Woon was determined to fatten up this emaciated student.

"There's one more thing—this rice was cooked with broth."

"Broth...?"

"I used broth instead of water. It’s a little different because I used deer bones rather than the usual pig or beef bones, but to be precise, this rice was made with ox bone soup."

"...Ox bone soup..."

Isn’t that really expensive?

‘City people might eat this at restaurants, but for people like us from the countryside, it’s a luxury to get to taste it if a big cow is butchered in the village...’

And now, using it to cook rice? It felt a bit too extravagant.

‘What am I even eating right now?’

Her stomach was full, and the meal was delicious, but she hadn’t really thought about it until now. Wasn’t this situation a bit too much?

A cold sweat dripped from Chara’s face as she thought about it, and Gio spoke up.

"You don’t have to use ox bone broth. Fish stock, chicken stock, or even vegetable stock would also taste good. If you dislike anything too greasy, vegetable stock would be better."

"Uh, no... that’s..."

"We have plenty, so feel free to eat as much as you like. But you should be careful not to overeat. I didn’t want to mention it, but you’re chewing carefully. If you overeat, it might upset your stomach."

"...Thank you."

Fish or chicken stock might be a bit much, but vegetable stock should be something I can make at home. I have vegetables growing in my garden.

‘I should make this kind of meal for the younger sibling before they enter the dorms.’

Living so tightly, even having rice was difficult. The most common meals were roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes, and the eggs occasionally given by the village chief were considered a luxury.

‘Vegetable stock is something I can definitely make by picking things from my garden, but rice... how do I...’

Chara murmured to herself but gave up thinking about it.

"......"

Let’s just enjoy the food for now.

‘I thought I’d either starve to death or be dragged off by ghosts, but I didn’t expect this kind of luck.’

Thanks to her full stomach, Chara had relaxed quite a bit.

Though her tension wasn’t completely gone due to facing a humanoid monster, the fact that it wasn’t likely to poison her food because it had its own rules made her feel more at ease.

‘In this sense, monsters are more trustworthy than humans.’

At least monsters didn’t lie like humans did. The polite monster that hadn’t threatened her once felt more trustworthy than a human who lies without a second thought.

Of course, she shouldn’t trust it. There were monsters that disguised kindness to deceive humans into letting their guard down.

"......?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it’s just... my leg... it feels better."

"Ah."

Gio nodded.

"Have you ever broken a bone?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, I broke my leg while carrying goods in a dungeon and encountered a monster."

"The ox bone broth in your meal has a healing effect on bones."

"Oh... Ah... oh..."

"After you finish your meal, I’ll check if your bone is healed. If not, it would be better to have some more soup. I didn’t intend for this meal to have such an effect, but I’m glad it helped."

"Ah... I see..."

Who makes a potion out of food?

‘This is so obvious that it's a monster.’

It looked like a normal meal, but the healing effect made it clear.

‘Just a few spoonfuls of rice and my bones are healed...’

Chara, with her limited knowledge, didn’t know the specifics, but she could tell that this was high-quality recovery food, maybe even better than a basic healing potion.

It was almost absurd that it was made with ox bone soup, and to think it was used to cook rice. She could definitely feel that the monster’s way of thinking was completely different from that of a human.

‘Still... I never thought I’d end up thinking this, but it seems like a kind monster.’

As she ate the well-cooked rice, feeling the sticky texture and the perfectly fluffy grains, Chara thought to herself. The evil ones couldn't even cook properly.

‘Monsters have their own rules, so as long as they don’t break them, they’re fine.’

Chara decided to ask outright.

"Is there anything I should be careful about when dealing with you, Gio? I mean, something you don’t like or rules I should follow to make sure I don’t offend you?"

"Something to be careful about?"

"Yeah, like... don’t make a mess at home... or something you really dislike, like... if there's anything you want me to follow?"

"Mm."

The monster blinked twice before answering.

"As long as you observe basic manners, I’d be grateful."

"Is that so?"

"As long as you don’t commit any crimes, I won’t care much."

"Crimes..."

Chara felt a bit of unease, but from the way Gio spoke, she could tell that the monster disliked rudeness and bad humans.

‘It must dislike rude, bad humans.’

And Chara was confident that she wasn’t one of those.

‘If something happens to me, it’ll be because I wasn’t strong enough to mess with others.’

She was at the bottom among hunters, an F-rank porter often referred to as part of the slave class. She wasn’t even capable of committing crimes.

Having understood the monster’s rules, Chara felt much more at ease. These things were completely unrelated to the weak Chara.

"......"

Although she couldn’t fully relax, she felt a little lighter.

‘...The behavior is so kind and polite...’

But it was strangely hard to feel at ease.

‘I know it’s trying to be considerate. And it hasn’t been threatening at all, so why do I feel so intimidated? There’s this subtle pressure...’

Still, Chara remained steadfast.

"...Could I have just one more bowl of rice?"

"You eat well, it’s a pleasure to watch."

"Ah, the pleasure is mine."

Still, the food was delicious.

‘Maybe my grandmother sent me this monster. The hand taste is incredible.’

Our village chief should really learn how to cook from this.

“......”

Yoo Seong-Woon felt dizzy.

"Thank you for helping me despite the difficulty."

"...Oh, no. It’s nothing, really."

"I’m not familiar with the geography of Korea, so I needed help."

"I'm actually grateful that you called me."

He hadn’t expected a perfectly normal human to come out from behind this gloomy frame.

"By the way, what did you say your name was, Hunter?"

"Ch-ch-cha... Chara..."

"Oh, you’re really nervous."

Yoo Seong-Woon, also nervous, thought about the situation where they had carelessly released Gio, all because of his and the guild leader’s greed.

‘...Good thing I prepared myself mentally. It turned out much calmer than I imagined.’

Even though it was part of finding a way to coexist, giving a list of dungeons where Gio could visit was something that could harm humanity.

He hadn’t expected something like that to happen.

‘Maybe the association will step in if something big happens, but it doesn’t seem like it will be that bad. After all, a human just came out of a frame.’

It was still a surprising outcome.

‘Who could have guessed that it would connect so openly like this?’

After receiving an interpretation letter, Seong-Woon went to find Gio. Gio had gone to "the gemstone veins" and found a young human, and, feeling bad, wanted to send them home.

When Gio said "young human," Seong-Woon had imagined around 10 years old, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.

‘Well, for Gio, it’s probably hard to tell what’s young or not.’

It was like how humans have difficulty guessing a dog’s age. Gio seemed to be confused too.

‘At 18, Chara is technically an adult, but in Gio’s eyes...’

Seong-Woon scratched the back of his neck.

"...I should get Chara Hunter home first. Is there anything I need to know?"

"I don’t think there’s anything."

"Okay, then. Let’s go after this. Thank you for calling me first."

With that, the portrait closed its eyes.

It was a signal that it had no more to say, so Seong-Woon looked at Chara without hesitation. This was the job he was supposed to finish—getting the young Hunter home.

"Chara Hunter..."

"Yes, yes?!"

"...Ah."

Seong-Woon was a little surprised by her intense reaction, but then he realized something.

"If you don’t mind, may I ask what rank you are?"

"......"

"I’m sorry if it seems rude to ask personal details, but it’s not with bad intentions."

"...I’m F-rank."

"Aha, I see."

No wonder she had been so tense—an F-rank hunter was too weak to be here.

‘An F-rank hunter couldn’t possibly withstand being in Bisa Beul’s guild gallery without issue. Especially since this is the 5th basement floor.’

This gallery was full of dangerous items. Only C-rank hunters and higher could enter. Hunters below that rank were restricted for their safety.

‘I didn’t realize how much care I should have taken. It’s much more controlled than the association’s research lab, where even regular researchers can visit.’

Once a team leader in the association’s research department, Seong-Woon compared the two situations. There were pros and cons to each.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize a C-rank or lower hunter hadn’t been in here before.”

"No, no, that’s not...”

"Shall we leave now? I have a few questions, but I think it’ll be tough here."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

“I’m the curator here, so don’t worry. As long as you stay close to me, you won’t get hurt.”

Though some pieces did attack, he wouldn’t take them near any of those. Seong-Woon led the trembling Chara toward the elevator.

When they arrived on the first floor, he froze.

"......"

"......"

Seong-Woon almost closed the elevator door again, but his patience from capitalist society kept his muscles from moving.

In front of him was the grinning Bisa Beul. Seong-Woon couldn’t hold back.

"...What are you doing here, Guild Leader?"

"I was watching the CCTV, and I caught a very interesting scene."

Could he really say that in front of an F-rank hunter, who was shaking in fear? That was bold, but still, quite impressive.

‘The compassion that should have ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) gone to humanity seems to have ended up in his collection.’

Though humanity’s rights were on the decline, this was too much. For the sake of guest protection, Seong-Woon shook his head.

"I don’t want to hear this anymore. The interview with Chara Hunter should be done by me first. You’ve just left the gallery and are very tense. It’s difficult for them to suddenly face this."

“Unfortunately, Seong-Woon, as the curator, you have no right to stop my enjoyment. I’m the Guild Leader, aren’t I?”

"Should I get promoted?"

"Even if you do, you’ll never be as good as the Guild Leader. You should have done it when you had the chance."

"Ugh."

Seong-Woon gritted his teeth, but he couldn’t hand over the frightened young hunter to this crazy hedonist. If that happened, he wouldn’t know what to say to Gio.

"...I understand, it’s a very exceptional situation, so it caught the Guild Leader’s interest. But I can report it after I check first. It’s not good for the Guild Leader to handle such trivial matters directly..."

"You’d prefer it, right?"

"Please, just maintain some dignity."

That was quite the thing to say to a first-time hunter.

‘Even so, it’s still one of the top three guilds in Korea, and you’re making its image look cheap.’

Chara Hunter couldn’t accept the situation and stiffened.

Rather than accepting this situation, she probably wished to become a small puff of air, but Bisa Beul wouldn’t let that happen.

“Alright. You’re Chara Hunter, correct? What’s your name?”

"Ch-cha... Chara... Please, let me live..."

“Oh dear. You’re really scared, aren’t you? Don’t worry, no one’s going to kill you.”

It was written all over his face: "Why would I kill such an interesting opponent?" His expression resembled that of a viewer enjoying an extraordinary artifact or a meaningful movie.

It wasn’t just Seong-Woon who noticed it. Chara, too, quietly hid behind him.

‘...I guess she thinks it’s safer with me than with him. Is this wise of her...?’

Seong-Woon felt pity as he hid her behind him. However, there was no escaping this crazy hedonist’s hands at this point.

"......"

At this point, it was hard to sneak this poor Hunter away.

"...I was going to the interview room, but..."

"Shall we go together?"

"...Alright."

The only thing Seong-Woon could do was to shield her as best as he could.

Gio, I tried.