Villain wants to live as a commoner chapter 33

Baek Gunho woke me up at the crack of dawn. It wasn’t even light outside yet.

Half-asleep, I snapped irritably.

“Why are you waking me up, you lunatic…?”

“Wake up. S-ranks don’t need that much sleep.”

If I knew he’d wake me up at dawn, I wouldn’t have revealed I was an S-rank no matter what.

As I reluctantly opened my eyes, Baek Gunho spoke earnestly.

“I’m going into a dungeon today.”

“Alright, be careful and…”

“Forget about me; you be careful.”

“Yeah.”

As I gave a half-hearted reply, Baek Gunho shook me. I nodded frantically, barely coherent.

“Okay, okay, I’ll be careful.”

“And don’t go out late at night like yesterday.”

“I got it. I got it.”

By this point, I was fully awake. Baek Gunho let go of me.

“Go back to sleep.”

“After waking me up?”

“Then get up.”

Seems like he planned to wake me up from the start.

Stretching, I got out of bed. I complained about being woken up, but I wasn’t really upset.

Even though I had been in deep sleep, it was nice to see Baek Gunho off.

“Wash up and come out. I made breakfast.”

See? He planned to wake me up all along.

After a quick wash, I went out to find toast and salad on the table.

Having a meal of bread and greens in the morning—what nonsense.

But considering the effort of someone who’s heading into a dungeon, I didn’t complain and sat down.

“What kind of dungeon are you going into today?”

“An easy one.”

His answer was utterly nonchalant.

“Everything’s easy for you, huh?”

“Of course, it’s easy for me; should I say it’s hard instead?”

It’s unlikely that a dungeon where the S-rank hunter guild leader personally goes would be objectively easy.

I clicked my tongue.

“Annoying bastard.”

“I’m just skilled.”

“Right, you’re so impressive.”

Normally, I’d throw some insult his way, but since he’s off to work hard, I let it slide this time.

“It’ll take about three days.”

“Three whole days?”

“I plan to clean up the southern area thoroughly.”

A dungeon remains intact unless its boss monster is defeated.

As a result, it was common practice not to kill the boss monster in valuable dungeons on purpose.

However, as long as the boss monster remains undefeated, monsters continue to spawn inside the dungeon.

When the dungeon becomes saturated with monsters, a dungeon break occurs, so regular maintenance and management require periodic cleaning of the dungeon.

Baek Gunho, who replied nonchalantly, quickly finished the remaining food.

It wasn’t much to begin with, so it was doubtful that such a small amount would be filling.

“Eat some more before you go.”

“No thanks. It’ll make me feel heavy.”

“You’re already heavy.”

“It’s just that you’re light.”

Baek Gunho, who never backs down from a verbal exchange, began preparing to leave. I followed him to the door to see him off.

“Take care.”

“Be careful.”

Baek Gunho, who warned me one last time, left the house.

He was someone who could build a Tower of Babel out of all his worries.

Thanks to getting up early, I was able to get ready early in the morning.

I waited for Lee Jooyun, who always arrived slightly earlier than the agreed time, and then got in the car.

“Hello, good morning.”

“Yes. Hello.”

I greeted him, saying I looked forward to working with him today as well, and buckled my seatbelt.

Lee Jooyun checked my expression and asked,

“Is there something on your mind?”

“No, not really.”

“Is it because the Guild Leader is entering a dungeon?”

Lee Jooyun hit the nail on the head. The dungeons owned by the Somang Guild in the southern region often included challenging A-rank dungeons.

Of course, since it’s A-rank or above, Baek Gunho would be entering it himself.

“You don’t need to worry; it’s nothing for the Guild Leader.”

“Ah… yes, it’s easy for Baek Gunho.”

Of course, I know that Baek Gunho isn’t likely to get injured by just anything. But still, I can’t help but worry.

No matter how strong he is, Baek Gunho is still human and can make mistakes.

“You’re still worried?”

“Yes, well…”

“You’re probably the only one worried about the Guild Leader entering a dungeon of that level, Heewon.”

Lee Jooyun said confidently, as if to reassure me. I studied his trustworthy face, which could have been on an election poster.

“Is everything okay with you, Jooyun?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Anything unpleasant happening… or are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“Just in case…”

The [Villain’s Qualities] attribute brings misfortune not only to me but also to those around me.

Since Lee Jooyun has been around me a lot lately, he could also be caught up in this misfortune.

So far, it seems nothing has happened, but it never hurts to be cautious.

“Are you worried about me?”

There was a hint of joy in Lee Jooyun’s voice, which pricked my conscience a bit. I decided to be honest.

“In the past, the people around me often got hurt. I’m worried something might happen to you too, Jooyun.”

“Did you have such worries?”

Listening to Lee Jooyun’s gentle voice, I realized that my intention might not have been properly conveyed.

He seemed to think it was just my excessive worry. Well, it’s not a story most people would believe.

“I’ll be careful. Don’t worry, Heewon.”

“I’m really worried, so please be careful, okay?”

“Yes, I will.”

Lee Jooyun answered with a smile in his voice.

Well, Jooyun is also A-rank, so he should be able to take care of himself…

…Instead of just letting it go, I took out a small patch-like item from my inventory.

It was a disposable defensive item made by Lee Shinhae.

“I’ll give you this.”

I abruptly stuck the patch on the back of Lee Jooyun’s neck. His neck and ears turned bright red.

“It’s a defensive item that activates upon receiving a certain level of impact. It’s disposable, though.”

“Huh? This is too precious… I’m fine, really.”

“If you remove it, the effect is lost. Please accept it as my gift.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

This should help at least once in a crisis. I felt satisfied, having done something.

✧✧✧

After Baek Gunho stayed at home for a few days, it felt empty without him.

Instead, Dust was having a field day. It had been lurking in the shadows for days, not moving an inch, but now it was racing around the house like crazy.

Taking advantage of being alone for the first time in a while, I tapped the shadow with my foot.

Never mind Dust, the snake that had entered it of its own accord was nowhere to be seen. I could faintly sense its presence.

Having an unknown creature, once the boss monster of a dungeon, coiled up in my shadow was unsettling.

“Hey, can you hear me? Come out. I know you can understand.”

Even after pleading with the shadow for a long time, it wouldn’t come out.

Eventually, I gave up and slumped onto the sofa.

“Fine, stay in there forever if you want…”

I muttered words I didn’t mean and closed my eyes.

At that moment, I felt a small presence at my feet.

I sat up quickly. A snake had emerged from the shadow, its head poking out and looking at me.

“You!”

— Heewon… you need to be careful…

The creature suddenly gave me an unexpected warning.

“You’re the only thing I need to be careful of right now.”

— Everything… repeats… you will… fail to achieve your goal… again…

“Are you cursing me?”

I was dumbfounded and grabbed the snake. It coiled around my arm as it was pulled from the shadow.

The sensation gave me chills, making me shiver.

It seemed docile but was a dangerous monster.

I tried to squeeze it to death, but I couldn’t muster enough strength to harm it.

I pulled the snake off and looked it in the eyes.

“How do you know me?”

— Heewon… helped me… remember…

“Me?”

Of course, I had never done such a thing.

There’s no way my information was leaked to the point where even monsters know about me.

How on earth does it know me?

This is the first time I’ve seen this monster, so what is it talking about?

— I don’t know… everything… but I still know… I must protect… Heewon…

“What are you talking about?”

I sighed involuntarily. Due to some contract or whatever, I couldn’t even kill it…

The problem was that I didn’t feel like killing it, like with Dust.

It’s not cute like Dust, nor have I become attached to it…

But somehow, its words didn’t feel like a complete lie. At least the part about having to protect me seemed genuine.

— Heewon… I’ll protect you… this time…

I scrutinized the snake as it babbled nonsense.

The monster, seen through [Sage’s Eyes], was as weak as Dust.

I wondered if I really needed to do anything about it.

My resolve wavered.

Since only monsters tamed with the [Taming] attribute can be put into the shadow, it wouldn’t suddenly defy me and rampage, right? Though I don’t remember taming it.

As I relaxed my grip, the snake slithered away. It slipped out and naturally disappeared into the shadow. I essentially let it go. It was unsettling, but I didn’t regret it. It was a strange feeling.

“It should be fine, right, Dust?”

— Meow.

Dust rubbed its head against my feet as if responding.

It probably doesn’t mean much to ask another monster, but I comforted myself by stroking Dust’s soft fur.