Chapter 30

Soram yawned, dressed in a somewhat perfunctory manner due to fatigue. In contrast, Tae-un always looked impeccably neat, as if he had a reset button at home. The book he had been reading was lying upside down on the sofa, indicating he had been waiting for Soram for quite some time.

"Have you finished preparing?"

"Yes. Han Tae-un ssi is always so quick."

"It was the same."

They naturally left the dormitory together and headed to the 13th floor office. Even the day before and the day before that, when Soram knocked, Tae-un would open the door almost immediately, marking the start of their daily routine.

And the second evidence was that when the alarm on his wrist beeped, he would press it impassively and say, "I'll be back," before getting up from his seat. If he encountered a troublesome reporter at the scene, he would return with a weary expression and a sigh. The daily routine of work, stress from civil complaints. Now, he was walking the path of a perfect civil servant.

Until recently, the calls from the Reconnaissance Bureau to Tae-un had been kindly delivered with a detailed report, but now it only notified him of the rift location after the alarm. Tae-un didn't seem to care much about that change. Whether they contacted him kindly or just gave the dispatch alarm, he acted the same way.

Soram's daily life was also always the same. He worked little and was very lazy.

And the midterm exams of Ayoung, the other team member, were also just around the corner.

"Okay. I'm all prepared."

Knowing it was the day before the exam, Soram told Ayoung to go back home early around 6 o'clock. But Ayoung said that taking the exam with her usual condition was also part of the exam training. So around 10 o'clock, after continuing her studies, Ayoung came out of the team leader's office with a solemn face. The other two team members, who were now used to waiting until 10 o'clock, looked at Ayoung.

"Are you nervous already? You have the courage to fly around on Aila and smash rifts and dungeons; you shouldn't be scared of just an exam."

"No. Back then, oppa or Aila was by my side, but the exam is my own fight. I'm just a bit more anxious..."

"Get some energy from Han Tae-un ssi. He's a law student at K University."

"Oh, right. I was surprised when I looked it up. Is it true?"

"...Yes. I'm on a leave of absence, though."

"Phew, I'll take some of that energy with me..."

Ayoung made a grabbing motion in front of Tae-un, then brought it towards herself. Seeing that, the corners of Tae-un's mouth also moved slightly.

"Study well. Manage your time well, and since you've studied enough, just be careful not to misread the questions or make marking mistakes."

"Okay. Wow, unlike Soram oppa, this advice feels like it has some studying experience behind it."

"Having the studious Han Tae-un ssi here must be helpful. It seems our Ayoung doesn't need me at all now."

"Ah, both of you are helpful in different ways. Soram oppa makes me feel at ease, and Tae-un oppa is dependable."

Hearing Ayoung's flattery, Soram relaxed his expression more easily than usual. Ayoung smiled brightly at him.

"You haven't forgotten what I asked you, right?"

"I know, so don't worry and turn off your pager tomorrow. Good luck on the exam."

"Got it!"

Ayoung answered firmly and nodded her head. Despite being nervous, her confident appearance made it seem like she had prepared a lot. In fact, she had been squeezing in study time in the midst of her busy schedule.

Today, Ayoung left the office by flying out the window on Aila.

"Let's go too. It seems like we won't have time to sleep in the office tomorrow, so we should rest up in advance."

"Okay."

Turning off the lights in the office and going together to the same floor had also become quite natural now. Opening the door and entering their respective dormitories was the same.

For the sake of this peace, Soram had one more task to do the next day.

The next morning, the place Soram visited before going to the office was the 14th floor, where the Reconnaissance Bureau, the other field department, was located.

The Reconnaissance Bureau was also a place where awakened hunters worked. However, the atmosphere was more static and hierarchical, similar to a regular company, as they did not actually engage in combat or rift elimination work.

The place Soram's steps were headed was the one that managed the dispatches of the Field Operations Bureau hunters.

"Hello."

The reaction was divided in several ways when a Field Operations Bureau hunter, who had no reason to come here, appeared. A very small number greeted him warmly due to familiarity, a majority curiously glanced at him as if looking at a celebrity, another majority focused on their work without a second glance, and the last were those who gave him a displeased look.

"Senior Yoon, it's been a while. I have a favor to ask."

Soram called out to a familiar face leaning against the partition. Senior Yoon Chang-hyeon approached, asking, "What favor?"

"For the next four days, please direct all the calls for Ayoung to me. Ayoung is in her exam period, so I want to take them all until it's over."

"Ah, she's taking exams. There's nothing Jin Chief can't handle if he just attends diligently. Jae-hyeok ssi, did you hear? Ah, this person is in charge of Ayoung. Originally, Team Leader Park was handling both Team 1 and Ayoung, but Kim Jae-hyeok ssi is temporarily in charge since she went on maternity leave."

Team 7 only had three members. In fact, until recently, there were only two. So there was no dedicated staff member for the team. Instead, one team member was assigned to the supervisor of another team. Yoon Chang-hyeon had been handling both Team 4 and Soram, sending dispatch calls.

"Jae-hyeok ssi, if there's a call regarding Lee Ayoung, please take care of it. But since she's a high school senior, we shouldn't disturb her exam."

"Ah... Yes, the exam. She's a high school student, right."

The man called Jae-hyeok, who had his shoulder patted, looked up from the screen and answered.

"But as a 1st-grade, the hunter's work should take priority, shouldn't it... If something urgent breaks out near the school, where you're completely on the other side, what can we do?"

"I'll be on standby in my personal vehicle. If there's an urgent matter, I'll fly over. I can cover everything."

Soram smiled brightly at him, though he clicked his tongue inwardly.

The Reconnaissance Bureau's inferiority complex towards the Field Operations Bureau hunters had a long history. It was because their social status in the same field of being hunters was vastly different. This was especially severe for those who were on the border between the Reconnaissance Bureau and the Field Operations Bureau in terms of combat ability.

As a civil servant system, the salaries were similar in both departments. However, the Field Operations Bureau hunters whose names were known had a different situation. They earned external income that made the Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters' salary look like pocket money.

Some of the hunters who had harbored excessive expectations of living such a life rationalized their current position by belittling the Field Operations Bureau.

People like Chang-hyeon were cases who knew they didn't fit the Field Operations Bureau and were satisfied with the Reconnaissance Bureau work. On the other hand, those who were not like that were not few either.

"Wow, impressive. You probably only work hard when it's really urgent, huh?"

"..."

This was a clear provocation from Jae-hyeok. Not only Soram but Chang-hyeon noticed it as well.

The words 'Is this bastard now expressing his inferiority complex towards me?' rose up to Soram's chin, but he suppressed it today. He hadn't particularly lost his temper and regretted it, but at least he knew today was a day he had to endure.

"Then I'll leave it to you. Kim Jae-hyeok ssi."

Soram mustered up his shallow patience, which was shallower than the sand scattered on a drawing paper. As Soram responded this way, it seemed he had nothing else to say, and he turned his head back to the screen with a "Yes, yes."

Ah, well done in restraining myself.

As he left the Reconnaissance Bureau office, patting himself on the back, Soram had to stop and go "Huh?" 

"Why are you here, Han Tae-un ssi? I told you to go to the office first."

"I waited for you to finish your business."

"What for. How did you know when I'd be out?"

"If it took too long, I would have gone ahead. But you came out quickly."

"I see."

Instead of the elevator, they chose the stairs to go down to the Field Operations Bureau office one floor below. The sound of two pairs of footsteps echoed in the hallway with the lingering smell of paint.

"Han Tae-un ssi, if there are calls from the northern part of the city for the next few days, can you go instead of me?"

"Yes."

"... Huh?"

"Why are you like that?"

"Nothing... I'm just surprised you so readily agreed to take my work."

"I overheard the conversation you had inside."

"... You heard what I said all the way from deep inside that office?"

"If I concentrate, I can hear that much. If I was just passing by, I wouldn't have known."

"..."

Strong, fast, and even his senses are good. This was no longer embarrassing to call a cheat.

Impressive, really. The more one learns, the more astonishing his abilities seem.

"Jin Soram ssi."

Tae-un, who was walking beside him, looked at him.

"It seems better to be a little less knowledgeable than to know just the right amount, and much better to know a lot than to know just the right amount."

A little... What? The words passed by too quickly for him to catch up. Trying to grasp the context, Soram looked at Tae-un's face, but this time, he turned his expressionless face to the side. Soram suddenly had a hunch.

"Was that an insult?"

* * *

Hunters from the Field Operations Bureau usually receive 2 dispatch calls a day, or up to 4 at most. This was not limited to working hours, but based on a 24-hour standard. In the case of teams with more personnel, they would appropriately divide the shifts between day and night to balance dispatches and rest.

Among them, there were also hunters who received relatively fewer dispatch orders compared to others. They were the team leaders and a few hunters with rare abilities.

The reason they were not sent out often was to prepare for the 'emergency situations where they were absolutely necessary.' When a 1st or 2nd-grade dungeon broke out, the team leaders of the headquarters had to arrive at the scene within 30 minutes. If a large-scale dungeon were to break out in the city, those with special abilities would have to go. This applied to Soram, who was considered one of the headquarters' greatest assets.

Taking full advantage of this benefit to maximally extend his sleep time, the Team 7 leader, for the sake of his bunny-like team member, decided to make an earnest effort for once.

Coincidentally, it rained that day.