SSS-Class Hunter is Going to Rest - Chapter 54



Only Noblemtl

Episode 54 Negotiation (3)
2024.06.05.

That night.

Knock.

Knock, knock.

Amidst the blazing flames, marshmallows on long wooden sticks were roasting golden brown.

The team members, including Suzy, sat comfortably in their respective positions, surrounding the campfire that was glowing alone in the pitch-black darkness.

They all had thoughtful faces.

Elaine reached out and stirred the marshmallow sticks, and Peace threw a foil-wrapped potato into the campfire.

Time did not pass, but objects could be moved. Perhaps because it was the time allowed by the Hunter System, the campfire item worked properly.

This situation itself was too unrealistic.

“… … I don’t know how this situation came to be.”

After a very long silence, Suzy muttered in a whisper. The

group, whose faces were covered in red shadows by the flickering light of the campfire, simultaneously raised their heads and looked at her.

Suzy, who had changed into a comfortable purple tracksuit after playing in the water in the morning, smiled slightly at the sight of her group wearing the same training clothes as her.

“I’ve never had a proper team uniform, but it’s fun and nice to wear this.”

“Since we go into the water all the time, it’s a bit weird to wear items.”

Peace answered, feeling the training clothes that looked like high school gym clothes.

These clothes were things Suzy had found in a box she had received as a gift from Dryad. It was fun to see that Suzy and her teammates had chosen and sent them to match their hair colors, so she chose them one by one.

Suzy was purple, Elaine was black, Saint was brown, and Peace was dark green.

“Don’t we look like slackers wearing these and roasting marshmallows?”

“Team Leader. I… … .”

Saint, who had been fiddling with the rabbit ears he had left on one side, suddenly said without looking up.

“Honestly, I don’t want to die.”

“Saint.”

“Of course, I can’t match up to Team Leader, but still… … But I worked hard. Isn’t it too much to tell me to die after working so hard? Really, I don’t want to die. It’s unfair.”

As she lowered her head, her short brown hair kept falling down from the corner of her face.

Suzy sat down next to Saint and hugged her tightly with both arms.

The terminal Saint was holding had a picture of her young face registered on her hunter registration card.

Saint had been lying on the tube all day without saying much and just scrolling through the terminal. Since time had stopped, there wouldn’t be any new information to update, so I wondered what he was looking at.

But now that I look at it, it seems he was reminiscing.

“Who wants to die? Don’t be so weird. Let’s do something about it.”

When the silence became too long, Peace snapped.

Saint suddenly raised his head and glared at Peace with tearful eyes.

“What are you talking about? So weird? Peace has dated and gotten married… No, no.”

Saint, who was overcome with emotion, suddenly trailed off as he poured out his words.

I didn’t want to dig up Peace’s story, but I was so angry that I must have unconsciously touched on something that others were hiding.

Peace licked his lips as he searched through his pockets, sighed, and picked up a stick with a marshmallow stuck in it.

“I quit smoking after raising the child, but that’s a bit regrettable.”

“… … I’m sorry. That’s not what I was trying to say… … .”

“Would I want to die? No, before I die, I want the children to live long lives even if I die.”

Everyone fell silent at Peace’s words and looked at him.

His face, with his green hair tied into a ponytail and his beard disheveled from not shaving for a day, had a complicated expression on it.

For someone who always liked to dress up, he seemed to be very troubled.

He stuffed a marshmallow into his mouth as if he was awkward about being the center of attention, then fiddled with the piercings on his ears and spoke again.

“I’m not married.”

“… … I told you last time. I know. I feel like I’m asking for nothing… … I’m sorry.”

When Saint sighed and apologized, Peace slowly shook his head.

“What do I have to be sorry about in this situation? It’s just that. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d pity my children. I thought of them as my children and raised them, so there was no need to say anything. They’re relatives.” She

didn’t know that.

Suzy was also surprised and looked up at him.

Peace was so affectionate to his children that he would video call them whenever he had a break while climbing the tower. Of course, he would run to them whenever he had a break, and I heard that he saved almost all of the money he earned in a bank account under his children’s name.

But I didn’t know they wouldn’t be my kids.

Peace scratched her head as if she had expected this silence and continued.

“It wasn’t like this, Wave. When the First Wave started, people died like crazy. It was just one of those things.”

“… … Peace.”

“I graduated from the Academy with people saying I was talented, so all kinds of guys would pick on me. You guys probably experienced it too. When you can’t do anything to ordinary people, those guys who have money attack you for no reason.”

Suzy and Saint nodded with a bitter smile.

The two of them had experienced it more because they were women.

Peace and Elaine were both quite physically strong, so they looked strong, but there were many real hunters who walked around without a brain.

“That’s why I used to beat up guys like that. I wasn’t interested in places like the Sage’s Tower. But when I actually took care of two kids, I felt suffocated. From now on, how do you think they’ll live in this world?”

“… … Did you climb the tower since then?”

“They’re still kids now, but back then, they were really babies. What should I do? I thought, should I live a little longer for them, or should I give up everything… … .”

Peace smiled as he picked up another marshmallow skewer.

It was the smile he habitually made when he confidently walked in front of a monster.

“There was a guild I belonged to back then, and the leader of the guild said to me. He said it would be a waste for me to be in a guild that only hunted regular monsters. Hunter Daphne was recruiting new team members. He said that if I went there, wouldn’t I be able to change the world?”

Suzy accepted the branch Elaine handed her, then her eyes widened.

She didn’t know there was such a story.

When Peace joined, there were only about ten team members. I wasn’t close enough to know each and every one of their stories, and I didn’t make enough effort to learn about them, who were easily replaced for various reasons.

But now that I’m listening to this, I wish I had known in advance.

If I had, we could have talked more.

“… … If you came with such grand expectations, you might have been a little disappointed.”

Peace responded with a smile as Suzy pressed her fingers against the hard surface of the marshmallow.

“No. It’s embarrassing to say this, but it exceeded my expectations.”

“… … It was?”

“I saw it changing day by day.”

Suzy raised her head and looked straight at Peace.

“Changed… … .”

“In addition to the fact that the buffs applied to South Korea actually went up, the fact that Team Daphne was silently climbing the tower had a big impact on people. Of course, I don’t think you know, Team Leader… … .”

Saint, who had been silently listening to Peace, nodded.

“That’s right. There was a time when the atmosphere of contempt for the weak was prevalent. Even to the point where they asked why the government should step in and compensate the victims of Ageha… … . It was like power is law. However, our team definitely played a big role in changing that atmosphere.”

“In addition, we provided solutions for the monsters that appeared, and because of that, the civil servants’ skills in responding to waves also improved rapidly. I could definitely see people becoming more mentally stable. I thought that I was valuable, and that I wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of the kids if I was on this team.”

Suzy felt that the two of them were exaggerating a bit.

However, the team members weren’t the ones who talked nonsense.

She awkwardly shoved the marshmallow into her mouth.

The sweet taste spread softly in her mouth.

“There was no such grand intention.”

“There was no grand intention, so we probably got to the 80th floor before anyone else.”

That might have been true.

Suzy laughed softly and let out a long breath.

She had heard stories of people evaluating her arbitrarily enough.

Words like “I respect you,” “I’m showing off,” “I’m a caretaker,” and “I’ll show off my other intentions someday with my increased power. ”

But it sounded different from the nonsense people who knew nothing about him were babbling about. Peace was one of the people who had been with him through that terrible hell.

“Do you regret it?”

Peace shook his head as soon as the question was asked.