Honey-Coated S-Class Guide — Chapter 11
“Well… It’s not as though I haven’t considered it.”
In truth, Ahn Dante had been suspicious from the moment Jin Hyoseop applied. It was simply too absurd.
But conversely, it was strange precisely because it was so absurd.
That was why Ahn Dante had deliberately visited his home and probed his thoughts under the guise of friendliness. There were certainly suspicious things about him, but they had little to do with being a spy.
“But don’t spies usually try to seem ordinary?”
“That’s true. An S-class guide joining a C-class guild certainly stands out.”
If he really were a spy, he probably wouldn’t have done something so conspicuous.
“Then what if he’s deliberately acting suspicious so we won’t suspect him?”
“You could go on forever thinking like that.”
Looking back at his monitor with an impassive expression, Ahn Dante continued.
“Don’t worry so much. As far as I can tell, Mr. Jin Hyoseop isn’t a spy.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Despite Ahn Dante’s certainty, Flat pressed him again, clearly reluctant to believe it.
“He really isn’t hiding anything?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that.”
Flat’s thick brows arched.
“What? You just told me not to worry.”
“I said not to worry because he isn’t a spy. But whether he has nothing to hide… Well.”
With a curious smile, Ahn Dante tossed a sheet of paper from his desk toward Flat.
It contained Jin Hyoseop’s personal information—not the résumé he had submitted for his interview, but information Ahn Dante had investigated himself.
As Flat began reading, the others glanced over one by one, their curiosity piqued.
“What is this?”
“Exactly what it looks like. There’s no record of him working in Korea. No record of him being tested, either.”
“I thought so…”
As Ahn Dante answered indifferently, his eyes fixed on his monitor, Coda murmured to himself.
Flat glanced at him.
“What do you mean?”
“…I thought it was strange.”
“What was?”
“…”
“What was strange?”
Coda gave only that incomplete answer, then closed his mouth.
Frustrated, Flat thumped his own chest.
“Ugh. I’m an idiot for trying to have a conversation with him. Boss, what’s he talking about?”
“I took Mr. Jin Hyoseop to the gathering this time. But no one there knew him.”
Ahn Dante looked at Coda as if to say, Right? Coda nodded. He, too, had found that odd.
“It’s strange. Normally, an S-class would know at least one person at a gathering like that. But even the National Security Bureau people didn’t seem to recognize him.”
“Those S-class-obsessed bastards don’t know him?”
The National Security Bureau, Korea’s highest-ranked guild, recruited people who were renowned even among S-classes. When it came to S-class guides, they would know every face and name—probably even their dispositions.
Yet those people didn’t know Jin Hyoseop?
“Is he a foreigner? He looks completely East Asian.”
“He could be like Czerny and me. A foreign national of Korean descent.”
At some point, Czerny had come closer and was listening with keen interest.
“Hmm. No wonder I felt attached to him.”
“But boss, even if he is a foreigner, it still doesn’t make sense. If an S-class guide entered Korea, there’s no way the National Security Bureau wouldn’t know.”
“He probably slipped in quietly. There’s more than one way to enter a country without attracting attention.”
“…Something smells fishy.”
It certainly was strange.
Even if Jin Hyoseop were a foreigner, there was no information to be found about him. An S-class guide with abilities impressive enough to earn Flat’s praise should have been known to some extent.
It was undeniably suspicious, but Ahn Dante wasn’t particularly interested. He merely chuckled and shrugged.
“Even so, does it really matter? It isn’t doing us any harm.”
Czerny enthusiastically agreed.
“Exactly! Hyoseop hyung is cute!”
“Hey, is being cute all that matters?”
“Yes.”
At that firm answer, Ahn Dante nodded. Coda also nodded along, looking perfectly serious.
“Have you all lost your minds?”
“Flat, what worries me is how you go looking for things you don’t need to worry about.”
“But he’s suspicious.”
“You’re more suspicious.”
“Exactly. You’re more suspicious, Flat.”
Flat’s face crumpled.
“I don’t want to hear that from you people.”
“Don’t overthink it. Why does it matter what he did in the past or what he’s hiding? It’s not as though any of us has a particularly wholesome past. I doubt his is as bloody as yours. You’re criminals, after all.”
“…Fine, I get it, but could you stop calling us criminals?”
“Then semi-criminals?”
“Ugh.”
Grumbling, Flat sharply turned his head away, making his displeasure obvious.
“Whatever. Just don’t regret it when he stabs you in the back.”
“Are you sulking?”
When Czerny poked his cheek, Flat immediately bared his teeth.
As the two began bickering, Ahn Dante watched with a quiet laugh.
“Why would I regret it? Mr. Jin Hyoseop is exactly the kind of recruit we wanted.”
Honestly, he liked Jin Hyoseop enough to want to keep him around even if he did stab them in the back.
“Think about it. He’s good at his job, easily swayed by sweet talk, gullible, and stupid.”
“…”
“He guided us himself and still didn’t realize we’re S-class. Where else would we find someone like that? Isn’t he perfect for us?”
“…That’s a scathing assessment. I thought you liked the guide.”
Flat couldn’t help looking uncomfortable.
“I do. That’s why I’m praising him. I said he’s a valuable recruit.”
His expression was utterly sincere even as he said things that sounded nothing like praise. He looked every bit the con artist.
“…Fraud,” Flat muttered loudly enough for him to hear, but Ahn Dante paid him no mind.
“So stop suspecting him and treat him well, all of you. Make sure he doesn’t run away.”
“I can do that!”
Czerny shot a hand into the air.
“I like hyung. I’ll be really good to him.”
“Hmm. You’re the one I’m most worried about.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because I don’t think you can respect the condition Jin Hyoseop set.”
He meant the condition that he wouldn’t provide anything beyond contact guiding.
Apparently lacking confidence himself, Czerny scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Uh… Hmm. That might be a little difficult.”
“Respect it. Mr. Jin Hyoseop seems to have some kind of trauma in that area. If he ends up leaving because of you—”
Ahn Dante formed a gun with his hand and pointed it between Czerny’s eyes.
“I’ll kill you.”
“Wow. Do you have to be so vicious? How long have we known each other? Don’t you have any affection for me?”
“With you, I think I need to be that clear.”
Ahn Dante smiled pleasantly, as though he had never threatened him.
“Let’s all treasure our one and only guide. It’s not every day you find someone who can fix your rotten bodies in a single session.”
On the day the gate opened, Flat was still sulking.
Ahn Dante, meanwhile, finished his preparations and waved to Jin Hyoseop with a cheerful expression.
“We’ll be off, Mr. Jin Hyoseop.”
In contrast to their relaxed manner, Jin Hyoseop paced by the door like a puppy desperate to go outside.
“Are you certain I don’t need to wait by the gate?”
“I keep telling you, it’s fine.”
“But still…”
Remarking that his worrying was becoming a problem, Ahn Dante lightly ruffled Jin Hyoseop’s hair.
“You look just like a puppy that’s lost its tail.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m saying you’re cute.”
Jin Hyoseop blinked at the incomprehensible comparison. His gentle-looking eyes plainly reflected his disposition.
“Don’t worry. Just wait for us.”
Ahn Dante and Flat left the office in clothes different from their usual outfits. The snug fit seemed designed to allow maximum freedom of movement.
Watching them go, Jin Hyoseop felt uneasy.
Guides normally didn’t enter dungeons with espers. They did, however, wait outside the gates in case an emergency arose.
But Ahn Dante had firmly told him there was no need to come.
Of course, staying behind was more comfortable for Jin Hyoseop, but he couldn’t help worrying.
C-class espers entering an A-class dungeon.
They were bound to overexert themselves. Would they really make it all the way back to the office safely?
“Don’t worry, Hyoseop hyung. Worrying about the boss is a complete waste of time.”
“Why is that?”
“His ability is especially suited to survival.”
Czerny grinned.
“Do you know what debuffs are?”
“Yes. Abilities that weaken a target, correct?”
“Exactly. There are quite a few kinds, and our boss is a special case who can use most of them.”
Jin Hyoseop blinked slowly.
Seeing that he didn’t quite understand, Czerny explained the ability in greater detail.
Debuffs: abilities that weakened their targets.
Various types of monsters appeared inside dungeons. Espers with debuff abilities weakened them to make them easier to kill.
They could slow the monsters’ movements, prevent them from using their full strength, or suppress their special traits.
For example, they could stop poisonous monsters from releasing poison, or prevent monsters that split like amoebas when cut from dividing.
“The boss can create an artificial sky wherever he wants and make all sorts of natural phenomena come down from it. Each phenomenon carries a different debuff. It’s incredible. Most people only have one kind of ability.”
“Is that really possible?”
“I couldn’t believe it at first either, but apparently it is.”
