Villain wants to live as a commoner chapter 52

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Inside the smoke, it was pitch-black—so dark I couldn’t see a thing.

I was fine, but I had no idea what had happened to Na Hongju.

I tried to push the smoke away, but no matter how much strength I used, nothing changed.

Then, out of nowhere—

• Myaaak.

I heard a sudden meow. Dust emerged from the shadows.

I could sense through my skill’s connection that it had escaped, but I couldn’t see the dust where it should’ve been—right by my feet.

Not for a moment, at least.

Soon after, the dust became visible again, starting from its mouth, which was munching on something.

Dust was devouring the strange black smoke. With each bite, the smoke disappeared in chunks.

‘What on earth is this?’

It seemed far too talented to be a mere F-rank monster.

I was suspicious, to say the least.

Though for now, it was helping.

• Twilight…

A snake emerged from my shadow and muttered.

Twilight?

What a strange thing to say.

The snake stood upright, staring intently beyond the smoke.

Through the black smoke, a small bird fluttered into view.

It looked like a cute little chickadee.

Although I hadn’t been able to see anything through the smoke, the bird appeared clearly.

That had to be a monster.

• Heewon!

As soon as the bird opened its beak, a clear voice echoed in my mind.

Judging by the situation, it seemed like the bird had spoken, but how did it know my name?

I used my strength to grab the bird.

“What are you?”

• I’m Twilight! Heewon’s friend!

There was no way it had suddenly become trendy among monsters to claim they were my friend.

I glared at the bird. Oblivious to my deadly stare, the bird chirped happily.

• I’ve missed you! I’ve missed you!

The bird spoke as though it had met me before. I thought it was just spouting nonsense, trying to lure me in, but…

• I’ve missed you for so long!

Its clear voice didn’t sound entirely like a lie.

Despite knowing I should kill it like any other monster, I couldn’t bring myself to act.

• Myaa.

Just as I was wondering what to do with the bird, Dust cried from a little distance away.

Dust sniffed something white, then gobbled up the surrounding smoke.

A white hand tumbled onto the floor.

Could it be Na Hongju?

I approached and grabbed the hand, pulling.

Na Hongju’s pale face emerged.

“Hey, are you okay? Na Hongju?”

There was no response from Na Hongju, who had lost consciousness.

She trembled uncontrollably, her body shaking so violently that it seemed restless.

I hurriedly pulled out an antidote potion.

But even as I poured the potion into his mouth, there was no reaction.

I wasn’t even sure if this was poison to begin with.

• Myak.

At that moment, Dust came over and dropped something onto Na Hongju’s body.

It was none other than that bird.

Had Dust hunted it?

But the bird simply stood up, shook itself off, and acted as if nothing had happened.

I had a sense of déjà vu.

Now that I thought about it, when Choi Dokyum was poisoned, Dust had dropped a snake on his body.

Does Dust know something?

The bird, now perched on Na Hongju, tilted its head.

• Should I save him?

These monsters seemed like they were both causing and solving the problem.

Weren’t the bird and the dungeon part of the same plan?

Everything felt too suspicious.

“Ugh…ugh…ugh…”

Na Hongju writhed in pain, groaning more miserably than before.

I couldn’t just stand by and watch him deteriorate.

“Save him.”

As soon as I answered, the bird flapped its wings.

Sparkling dust fell from its feathers and dissolved into Na Hongju’s body.

“…”

Na Hongju’s trembling slowly subsided. It was a relief, really. But…

I tried squeezing the bird as a test.

I applied enough force that it should’ve hurt, but the power vanished like it was nothing.

The bird tilted its head again.

• Heewon, friend!

“Did I… make a contract with you too?”

• Contract? Yes! We made a contract!

The bird happily trotted around on Na Hongju’s chest.

It seemed I now had another monster to care for.

I briefly remembered Baek Gunho warning me not to tame monsters because it was dangerous, but it was too late.

I couldn’t just let someone die.

• I’m tired!

The bird chirped in a voice that didn’t sound tired at all, then boldly headed toward my shadow.

Fine, go ahead.

As the bird slipped into my shadow, I suddenly felt a sharp pain, like something was tearing me apart from the inside.

Through squinted eyes, I saw the smoke billowing toward my shadow.

It was being sucked into the narrow space at my feet.

The more smoke that got drawn in, the more intense the pain became.

In the midst of the agony, my consciousness faded in and out.

I couldn’t fully pass out, but I had to endure the pain.

“Ugh…”

At some point, the surroundings brightened.

A system window appeared in front of me.

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[Skill level of Shadow Nest (A) has increased.]

[You have acquired Shadow Nest (S)]

[Shadow Nest (S):You can house and care for tamed entities within your shadow. You can check their information. Any entity hidden within the shadow will be fully concealed.]

---

I cleared the system window from my view.

The familiar hallway appeared in front of me, with Na Hongju lying on the ground nearby, potion bottles scattered around him.

“Are you okay!?”

A voice shouted, and the area became noisy.

I looked around with blurry vision.

It seemed like reinforcements from the Hunter Bureau or a guild had arrived.

Of course, they show up after it’s all over.

I sighed and let my body relax, but someone grabbed me.

“Are you alright?”

“…Kwon Sahyeok.”

I mumbled in disappointment without realizing it.

Kwon Sahyeok smirked.

“Sorry it’s not your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend…”

This guy definitely enjoyed teasing me.

“But what about the smoke…?”

“Hongju!”

Suddenly, a man’s loud shout came from the side.

I instinctively turned toward the sound.

When I saw the man’s face, my eyes widened.

“Hongju! Na Hongju!”

The man calling out Na Hongju’s name was none other than Lee Kanghoon.

Could they know each other?

A healer quickly rushed over and checked on Na Hongju.

“She’s okay, just unconscious. There are traces of poisoning, but it seems the situation was handled in time.”

“Thank goodness…”

Lee Kanghoon let out a sigh of relief. I repeated the words that had been cut off by his shout earlier.

“Has the smoke disappeared?”

“Smoke?”

Kwon Sahyeok tilted his head at my question.

“No, it wasn’t smoke, but something strange, like a black mass. I was worried because I couldn’t get through, but it suddenly vanished.”

“Really?”

“Maybe it looked like smoke from inside?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s odd.”

Kwon Sahyeok murmured as he glanced at the now quiet gate.

“Never mind, we’ll investigate it later. For now, you need to rest.”

The approaching paramedics were already loading Na Hongju onto a stretcher.

One of the healers came over to me as well.

“Just in case, we should head to the hospital.”

“No, I’m fine…”

“You may feel okay now, but we can’t be sure. You should get checked out.”

“Yeah, get checked. A fragile F-rank shouldn’t push themselves too hard.”

I’m not fragile F-rank! I’m a strong, powerful S-rank.

But if I insisted here, it would only raise suspicion, so I ended up nodding reluctantly.

“You did well. Be careful on your way.”

Kwon Sahyeok said goodbye to me as I was reluctantly placed on the stretcher.

Along with Na Hongju, I was loaded into the ambulance and transported to the hospital.

As soon as we arrived, I asked the paramedics for a brief moment.

“Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.”

“Are you sure you can go alone?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Since I didn’t seem to be in bad shape, they let me go without hesitation.

Once inside the restroom, I quickly retrieved a potion bottle from my inventory and gulped it down.

One bottle wasn’t enough, so I drank a few more.

The bitter taste hit hard, and my body immediately felt heavy.

The medicine I took was more like poison.

It was designed to weaken physical abilities.

I’d prepared it in case I needed it for tests or treatments at the hospital.

Still, that wasn’t enough.

I also tore a scroll that suppressed my strength.

Only then did I feel the effects starting to take hold.

I left the restroom and headed for the ward designated for awakened individuals.

The doctor who examined Na Hongju first gave me a concerned look.

“You were with Na Hongju, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, you seem fine considering, but we should do a thorough examination just in case.”

“I really think I’m okay.”

“That doesn’t matter. You could feel fine and still have poison in your system slowly eating away at you. There have been countless hunters who collapsed days after entering a dungeon. You must get tested.”

“But…”

“Seo Heewon, listen to me.”

The doctor called my name in a stern tone. I had no choice but to nod.

I underwent a thorough examination.

Fortunately, the medicine I took didn’t show up in the tests, and my rank wasn’t detected either.

The doctor determined that there was nothing wrong with me.

“You have quite a bit of mana for an F-rank. I recommend you get re-tested.”

“Uh… okay…”

It seemed the medicine and scroll weren’t enough to fully lower my rank.

Still, I managed to avoid detection.

“You may have overexerted yourself. We should observe you here at the hospital just to be safe.”

“Doctor, I really am fine.”

“We won’t know that until we monitor you. Don’t jump to conclusions. Once something happens, it’s too late. Stay and rest.”

His voice was firm. I’d been scolded.

In the end, I quietly made my way to the hospital room.

The medicine had made my body sluggish, and I lay there in a daze.

Slowly, my consciousness began to fade… until the door suddenly swung open.

“Heewon!”

It was Baek Gunho, his voice filled with anger.

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