Chapter 97

Chapter 97: Who Laid a Hand on My Husband?

Gerald and Hyera ate at the Rift restaurant again today.

After finishing their meal, the two stood facing each other at a spot far removed from the base camp.

"Hyera, are you sure you are using the skill?"

"I told you, I am."

"Then why is that guy not reacting? It has been five days already."

"There are occasionally people who are resistant. Give it a bit more time."

Even as she said this, Hyera was puzzled.

'This is the first person to show absolutely no reaction to my Enchanting Gaze skill.'

There had been a few people who did not react to Enchanting Gaze.

But she was not using just one skill.

She was simultaneously using a skill called Whisper of Trust.

A skill that made conversation partners feel trust and affinity toward her.

When those two skills were used together, there had never been a man she could not win over.

"Could it be because of his wife......?"

"Emeria? Well, with a wife like that, it might not work. You are attractive enough, but she is practically a goddess of beauty."

Gerald recalled Emeria's cold yet beautiful eyes and nodded.

Hyera snapped at Gerald, displeased by the comparison.

"If you had properly seduced Emeria and created a rift between the couple, that man would have fallen for me by now."

"Are you blaming me?"

Gerald's brow furrowed.

"That is not what I —"

Gerald lightly raised his arm and swept his palm downward.

HUMM!

A powerful gravitational field slammed down on Hyera.

"Ugh!"

Pinned face-down by the immense force, Hyera struggled helplessly.

Despite possessing S-Rank stats, she was utterly diminished before Gerald's Unique Skill.

Gerald looked down at her and delivered a cold rebuke.

"I show you a little affection and you keep crossing the line."

"......I am sorry."

Gerald released the gravitational field skill.

Only then did she let out a ragged breath.

Gerald spoke to her.

"We need Hunter An Seon-u's skills. Emeria is tempting too, but if we cannot obtain both, we will give up on Emeria. So even if there is friction with her, you must seduce that man and make him yours. By any means necessary."

"......Understood."

***

It had been over a week since Gerald and Hyera started visiting the restaurant.

Throughout, Hyera had continued her blatant attempts to seduce me.

Naturally, I had not budged an inch.

My heart belonged to Ria and Ria alone.

'But there are moments when I get caught off guard.'

Only for a split second, but occasionally I felt as if I were being drawn in.

And my wife's senses were sharp.

She caught those fleeting moments of wavering and sulked briefly.

Her jealous side was cute in a way, but it was no good if it persisted.

I smoothed things over by cooking Ria delicious food and staying even closer to her side than usual.

After one such incident, I went outside the Rift and looked up information about Hyera on my desktop.

'What skills does she use? What is her typical conduct?'

There was no public information online about Hyera's specific skills.

While searching international community forums, I found a post raising allegations about her.

'She seduces various political figures and celebrities, using them to bolster support and power for the WPA......'

The poster speculated that Hyera possessed some kind of seduction-type skill.

Commenters criticized the poster for defaming someone without evidence.

'The seduction skill theory has merit, though.'

I had already been wondering whether she was using that kind of skill.

The next day.

The lunch service began.

Today, Hyera came to the restaurant alone.

The bar counter was designated for solo diners or parties of two.

I had changed the rule so that if the bar counter was full when a pair arrived, they would be seated at a regular table — no exceptions.

So she had made a reservation for one and come alone.

'Relentless, truly.'

At this rate, Ria's patience would explode.

She was already holding back considerably.

'If this were not the restaurant but outside, she would not have held back.'

She was enduring only because the woman was a customer.

"I am back again, Chef."

"......Yes."

I made my displeasure obvious, but she paid no attention.

Today again, she removed her coat to reveal an off-shoulder top with a deeply cut neckline, sending me that signature gaze.

'Ignore her.'

I focused solely on cooking.

Regardless, she kept chattering at me.

'Ria's chopping sounds are getting rougher, and that woman does not even notice.'

Then an unscheduled visitor entered.

It was Ashley and Fenrir.

"Seon-u, Ria. It has been a while."

"It has been a while, male human, female human."

The two approached with greetings.

"Welcome, both of you. It has been a while."

"I went back to Gillieta. I spent all my gold coins and had to exchange gems through the dwarves. This mutt cannot make it here on her own without me."

"Who are you calling a mutt, you lizard."

They were as close as ever.

Best friends, essentially.

"I see. But there are no bar counter seats available, so you might have to wait. Is that all right?"

I could not seat them at a regular table.

The Hunters would be too nervous to eat comfortably.

The same applied to whoever sat next to them at the bar counter, but at least it was better than a table.

"We will wait in the corner and chat."

"All right."

The two waited in an empty corner near the bar counter.

Ria and I continued conversing with them while cooking.

Then Hyera butted into the conversation, oblivious to the mood.

"Chef, where are those two from? I cannot understand the language, and they look very exotic. Northern European, maybe?"

I did not even know their nationality.

"I am not sure."

I answered coldly and resumed talking with Ashley and Fenrir.

She interrupted again.

"Your friends are very attractive women, Chef. I would love to get to know them — would you introduce us?"

There were rules to follow on the Fourth Floor of the Rift.

Among them: beware of the white-haired ones.

Never offend them or pick a fight.

Because they might be the dragon and Fenrir.

'Has she not heard about those rules?'

She apparently did not realize that these two were the very beings everyone was warned about.

Then again, what would the world's number-one ranked mega-guild have to fear?

Ashley, irritated by the disruption to their conversation, cast the Sigil of Wisdom communication spell with visible annoyance.

"Who are you, and why do you keep butting into our conversation?"

Hyera was startled by the sudden ability to communicate.

At the same time, Ashley's openly displayed displeasure frightened her.

"I am...... I just heard you were friends of the Chef, and I simply wanted to get to know you......"

Ashley then asked me,

"Seon-u, are you close with that woman?"

"Not close at all. She is just one of the customers who has been coming to the restaurant for the past few days."

"And Ria?"

When Ashley directed the question to Ria, Ria stared coldly at Hyera and said,

"A stranger. Just a troublesome customer who shamelessly flirts with someone else's husband right in front of his wife."

Seeing Ria deliver that pointed remark, she must have reached her limit.

Upon hearing this, Ashley was utterly dumbfounded.

"What? Is she out of her mind? But why have you just been sitting there watching instead of cutting her down?"

"This is my husband's precious restaurant, and a troublesome customer is still a customer."

"So that is why you could not act. You two are too kind-hearted for your own good...... Now that I look, that human woman has half her chest on display."

At those words, Hyera's face flushed red. She rose from her seat and reached for her coat.

Even in the midst of it all, she did not forget to say goodbye to me.

"Chef, I will be going now. See you again."

Watching her retreating figure, Ashley and Fenrir said,

"Want me to follow her out and incinerate her?"

"I am suddenly curious what human meat tastes like."

At their menacing words, Ria shook her head.

"Forget it. If she does it again, I will handle it myself."

***

The lunch service ended.

I packed a homemade lunchbox and delivered it to Santos, who was on guard duty at the restaurant outpost today.

"Santos, good work today."

"......Thanks for the lunchbox."

On my way back to the restaurant —

Benson, the guild master of the Colt Guild — composed of former soldiers and mercenaries from around the world — called out to me.

"Chef An, I made a field ration I used to enjoy in the military. Would you taste-test it for me?"

"Oh?"

I was curious. What kind of dish would it be?

"What did you make?"

"Haha! It would not be fun if I told you. Come see for yourself."

Fair point.

"All right."

I followed Benson to the Colt Guild's base camp.

But something was off.

Not a single Colt Guild member was around.

He claimed to have cooked, yet there was no food smell whatsoever.

Instead, I caught a scent resembling perfume.

'What is going on......?'

Benson gestured toward the inside of the tent.

"The food is inside. After you."

This was suspicious.

It felt like a trap.

"I do not smell any food at all."

"Haha, it is dehydrated food, so it does not have a scent."

"Even dehydrated food has a smell. You cannot fool my sense of smell. I will be heading back."

As I turned to leave, Benson grabbed my wrist.

Being a former Tier-1 special forces operative and an S-Rank Hunter, he was quite strong.

My wrist throbbed.

"Please cooperate while I am asking nicely, Chef. You will not regret it. You will actually be thanking me."

"Let go of my wrist."

I opened Acresia behind my back.

The edges of weapons peeked slightly out of Acresia.

Pressure — a reminder that I could sever the arm gripping my wrist through the Release Skill.

"......"

Benson broke into a cold sweat but still did not release my wrist.

Then the tent curtain parted slightly.

Hyera's bare shoulder and thigh were revealed — she appeared to be wearing virtually nothing.

"Chef, you are here? Please, come in."

My mind went hazy for an instant.

But Ria's face immediately flashed before my eyes.

I immediately used the Dragon Fear I had obtained through Acresia's Absorption Skill.

I let out a fierce roar, and my mind cleared instantly.

Simultaneously, a system message appeared.

[Dragon Fear was used to resist the 'Enchanting Gaze' and 'Whisper of Trust' skills.]

Just as I suspected — Hyera had been using seduction-type skills.

"What exactly is going on here?"

I demanded, but neither could answer.

The Dragon Fear had taken full effect, and they were trembling uncontrollably.

Then how about trying this too?

I used the Ice Nova obtained from the Ice Turtle.

CRACKLE!

A wave of freezing cold swept over them, and both exhaled visible breath from the chill.

First, Dragon Fear to massively reduce their stats.

Second, Ice Nova to reduce their movement speed.

A double debuff delivered in succession.

"......What are you doing to us?"

Benson played the victim.

"That is my line. You lured me here, set a trap, and used a mental skill to seduce me."

Hyera's expression hardened.

"Mental skill? I have no idea what you are talking about! And is seduction a crime? Consenting adults can do as they please."

Brazen to the end.

"My system message window already showed that you used the 'Enchanting Gaze' and 'Whisper of Trust' skills."

When I named her exact skills, Hyera bit her lip.

Hunters from various guilds and parties began crowding around after hearing the commotion.

They then saw Hyera in her near-undressed state and gaped.

Hyera wrapped her arms around herself, crumpled to the ground, and screamed.

"AAAH! The Chef tried to assault me!"

Good grief.

The Hunters looked back and forth between me and Hyera.

"There is no way our Chef would do that......"

"The Chef's wife is Emeria, for crying out loud. What kind of nonsense is this?"

"Come on, the Chef is way too good a person for that."

"Last time I saw, Hyera was the one practically throwing herself at the Chef with her chest on display. I was worried she would end up getting sliced by Lady Emeria's sword."

They were suspicious of Hyera instead.

'My reputation with the Hunters is pretty good.'

Serving delicious food had paid off.

Granted, I had charged magic stones for it.

Just as the situation was turning in my favor —

"I am a witness! Chef An tried to assault Hyera!"

Benson stepped up as a witness, framing me as a criminal.

The Hunters tilted their heads in confusion.

I let out a hollow laugh, then turned my head to the side and said,

"Eriksson, you can come out now."

Eriksson deactivated his stealth skill and materialized beside me.

Ria had stationed Eriksson with me in case Gerald and Hyera tried something underhanded.

Not to surveil me out of suspicion, but as a bodyguard for my protection.

Eriksson's face was contorted with rage.

"Seon-u, I am absolutely livid right now. Can I just take care of these two?"

"No killing. Instead, tell everyone what you witnessed."

"Fine."

Eriksson recounted the true sequence of events to the gathered Hunters.

The Hunters erupted in anger.

"How dare they do this to our Chef......!"

"Being WPA does not make you untouchable!"

"They tried to take our Chef from us?"

"The Colt Guild is nothing but a WPA lackey now."

The Hunters berated the two.

Just then, Gerald arrived with the entire WPA alliance officer corps.

Gerald shouted as he approached.

"What is this commotion?!"

From the opposite direction —

"Seon-u, what is happening?!"

"Male human, do you need assistance?"

Ashley and Fenrir, who had lingered after their meal, were approaching.

And behind them came Ria.

With an expression of absolute fury.

As if to say, 'Who laid a hand on my husband?'