I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 237

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 237
Ep. 237
Ihyeon paused in thought, disappointed by the childishness (?) that Suyeon revealed the closer they became.
In truth, people weren’t simply disappointed.
Whether entering the 70s or the 80s, entry notifications had leaked fragments of Ihyeon’s movements.
Since it became known that he was spending considerable hours each day on repeated clears, many people were actually pleased, saying that Ilgyeok would only grow stronger from this.
‘Still, I should probably have another conversation with the Management Bureau.’
About whether I could start attempting Floor 87 soon.
But the Management Bureau didn’t seem to be taking it easy either.
A notification appeared before Ihyeon’s eyes that a message had arrived.
“What is it?”
The sender was Tower Defense, a Hunter from the Management Bureau.
But the content was quite puzzling.
「Tower Defense: Hunter, is everything alright?
Ilgyeok: Yes, all is well.」
They suddenly contact me and ask if everything’s fine?
The news was constantly reporting which floor Ilgyeok had entered today, so the Management Bureau couldn’t possibly be unaware of what Ihyeon was currently doing.
Even without direct contact with him, they would be receiving daily reports from Shin Gung, who was clearing alongside him.
‘By now, the Management Bureau should have more than enough information to figure out my identity… I think it might be okay to meet them directly now.’
Until now, the Management Bureau had meticulously avoided even chance encounters.
According to what Suyeon had told me, they hadn’t even once tried to pry into Ilgyeok’s identity.
They were faithfully—no, actively—reflecting my wish to keep my identity secret.
By this point, sufficient trust had been built between me and the Management Bureau.
To the extent that we didn’t need to awkwardly exchange pleasantries with each other.
「Ilgyeok: But what’s the matter?
Tower Defense: Ah, no. I’m just relieved that everything is fine. Right?
Ilgyeok: …Yes, that’s right.」
But something felt off.
It was so suspicious that I didn’t even want to dig deeper.
“Suyeon, has the Management Bureau mentioned anything unusual?”
“Huh? No, nothing special.”
“Really?”
Suyeon’s eyes sparkled with innocent brightness, proving she truly knew nothing.
‘Is there really nothing wrong?’
If there was nothing wrong, that would be fortunate.
For instance, what if I encountered my former company commander in the tower? That would be the worst case scenario.
‘…That would actually be quite horrifying.’
It was just a thought I’d made in jest, but the more I dwelled on it, the more it felt like a horror film.
Seeing Ihyeon’s expression distort in real time, Suyeon tilted her head in confusion before quickly changing the subject.
“But are you really going to Floor 87?”
“Yeah, Master~ I’m sick of Lava Slimes now. Let’s move up.”
“Right, I’ll talk to the Management Bureau about it. Though I have a feeling floor 87 will be Lava Slimes too.”
“These atrocious tower bastards… they’re trying to work Spirits to death.”
Elsie rolled around on the sofa, quite disappointed by Ihyeon’s prediction.
“They’re monsters we have to hunt anyway, Elsie.”
“I know that! But there are just… way too many of them, that’s the thing.”
Jia patted the frustrated Elsie in a mature, comforting manner.
‘Strike while the iron’s hot—since they’ve reached out, might as well bring it up?’
Watching the two Spirits, Ihyeon sent a new message to Tower Defense.
「Ilgyeok: I’d like to meet with Personnel Manager Baek Seongyun again.
Tower Defense: Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you…
Ilgyeok: ?
Tower Defense: Oh, no. The Personnel Manager specifically instructed me to respond this way whenever you contact me…
I wasn’t sure what had happened, but setting that aside.
「Ilgyeok: This time, Jang Deokhun and I are planning to go directly. I believe the time has come for that.
Tower Defense: Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you…
Ilgyeok: Is this also from the Personnel Manager?
Tower Defense: No, this one is just from me.」
“?”
The Management Bureau might be a place with more human warmth than I’d expected.
So I’d casually floated the idea to the Bureau.
Ihyeon then spoke to Suyeon with an expression of genuine reluctance.
“Suyeon, I’m sorry, but I think I need to take a break from the tower for a while?”
“Why? You should keep rowing while the momentum is good!”
Suyeon crossed her arms and glared at him, wondering if he was trying to shirk his duties again.
But this time, Ihyeon actually had a legitimate reason!
“It’s just that…”
* * *
After returning home, evening arrived.
Ihyeon asked Minjeong and Donghoo if they could come by the house for a bit.
Of course it was evening time anyway, and closing the supermarket for a short while posed no problem, so they readily agreed.
“No, Mom and Dad hate closing the supermarket, so I’ll send Jia and Elsie instead.”
– Oh my, you don’t have to do that. You’re really sending them? Well then…
‘Aren’t they a bit too excited about this?’
Though they said verbally that it wasn’t necessary, that Mom and Dad had enough flexibility, the voice coming through the speaker was brimming with joy.
When I entered the tower once a day, Jia would occasionally help out at the supermarket, but for the past month, there hadn’t been any time for that.
Since they hadn’t been able to enjoy the so-called ‘Jia effect,’ they were naturally delighted at the prospect of a sales boost.
“Jia, Elsiya. Can you watch the supermarket for a bit?”
“Hmph, no deal unless you give me five ice creams.”
“One per fruit crate.”
“Call! Armor Fox, what are you doing? Grab the tools.”
‘What tools…?’
After a historic deal was struck, Elsie dragged Jia out by the hand, brimming with confidence.
Not long after Jia and Elsie left, Donghoo and Minjeong returned home.
“Hey, Ihyeon. Why did you call both Mom and Dad?”
“Elsie must have caught some wind because she’s already sold three boxes of fruit.”
“…How?”
At that rate, wasn’t she essentially forcing fruit boxes on passersby at knifepoint?
No matter how much I dimmed the Spirits’ presence when they were at the supermarket, their exceptional beauty couldn’t be hidden.
Especially when a cute child like Elsie asked customers to buy a box of fruit, most supermarket shoppers would readily open their wallets.
“Maybe running the supermarket together is actually more profitable than climbing the Tower.”
“Mom.”
“Just kidding, just kidding.”
In any case, after seating Minjeong and Donghoo at the dining table, Ihyeon smiled and broached the subject.
“Don’t Mom and Dad want to move?”
“Move…?”
“That’s sudden.”
Just as Donghoo said, the two of them blinked at each other in response to such an abrupt topic.
“Yes, you’ve both said before that someday you’d like to close the supermarket and move to the countryside to farm. Now that we have the means, why not?”
Donghoo and Minjeong had spent their entire lives running a small supermarket in Seoul.
As such, they had expressed their desire multiple times to spend their remaining years in open nature, living modestly with simple hobbies.
Moreover, since I had harbored the desire to escape this dilapidated apartment ever since I first entered the Tower, I thought it was time to fulfill my parents’ dreams.
Minjeong, who had worn a surprised expression for a moment, spoke in a hesitant voice.
“Ah, well. Of course we’ve said that…. But is it easy to do these days, anywhere?”
“Dad would be hap—Ow!”
I had no idea what Donghoo was trying to say, but he suddenly let out a yelp.
“Haha… Dad’s fine too. Moving to the countryside costs so much money. Land prices, house prices, remodeling… Ugh, it won’t work, it won’t.”
“Right, Ihyeon, you do seem to be making good money, but save that for later when you marry a nice girl.”
“Okay.”
Indeed, when I had replaced all the home appliances before, my parents had told me to be frugal.
I nodded seriously and pulled out my phone.
After tapping it a few times, I set it down in front of Donghoo and Minjeong.
“Just take this as reference. Honestly, I’ve been feeling cramped in this apartment too. It would be better for hiding my identity as well… What do you think?”
“Well, that’s true, but the cost…. My goodness!”
“What’s wrong? Mom!”
Donghoo and Minjeong, who had been casually glancing at my phone screen, were simultaneously startled.
They were so shocked that, without exaggeration, they jumped up from their seats.
“….”
Like when I first brought up moving, Minjeong and Donghoo fell silent, staring at each other for a moment.
Creak—
The two of them then calmly settled back into their seats and spoke.
“Which neighborhood should we look at?”
“Do you have any places in mind, son?”
Ihyeon chuckled and shook his head at the sudden shift in their attitudes.
“I was planning to scout it out tomorrow.”
“Huh? Tomorrow? A real estate agency?”
“Well… it’s not exactly that kind of place.”
There’s the Management Bureau—they’re really good at handling things like this.
* * *
The next day, Ihyeon and Deokhuun met near the Management Bureau.
Ihyeon greeted Deokhuun with a slightly wry smile.
“Sorry for calling you out so suddenly.”
“Sir, what you mentioned yesterday wouldn’t normally be considered sudden.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Deokhuun waved his hand dismissively with a smile, as if he didn’t mind at all.
Even if a friend asked to meet the next day, that would be fine—let alone a summons from Ilgyeok.
If Ilgyeok asked “Want to meet in 10 minutes?” there were probably plenty of people in the world who would charter a private jet just to show up.
“By the way, you’re thinking of looking for a house?”
“Yeah. My parents’ lifelong dream was to live somewhere quiet, tending a vegetable garden. Now that I finally have some breathing room, I thought it was time.”
“Wow~ that’s so like you, sir. Such filial piety~”
Deokhuun clapped his hands playfully at Ihyeon’s words.
Normally, he would have looked for a house through a real estate agent in the usual way, but he had a feeling the Management Bureau would actually prefer a different approach.
Since the Management Bureau either provided residences for the Rankers it managed or at least directly brokered houses, it wasn’t strange to accept their help.
“It’s partly for my parents’ sake, but I think it would be more convenient for me too.”
“Yes, that makes sense. I’ve also picked one of my father’s vacation homes and holed up there for months at a time quite often.”
“…One of his vacation homes?”
“Yes, well, with so many, people can’t even find them all. It’s perfect for clearing your mind.”
Ihyeon stared at Deokhuun with trembling eyes as he joked around.
Deokhuun seemed oblivious to why he was so surprised.
‘Just how many vacation homes does he have that people can’t find them…?’
Though he seemed to keep his distance from his father Park Wungdo, it appeared the son was still very much the son.
“It’s a shame though~ Once you move, we won’t be able to meet as often as we do now. Your warehouse has been quite lively lately, which has been fun.”
“Well, I’ll have to find a suitable place first. But these days, it’s hard to find decent land.”
Ihyeon was actually worried that even the Management Bureau might not be able to offer suitable options.
Ever since Towers appeared and the world became one where Gates could open anywhere at any time, people had flocked even more to Seoul and other major cities of comparable size.
There was a widespread belief that doing so would be safer, even if disaster struck.
As a result, most land in rural areas was either abandoned as vacant properties or rarely came on the market at all.
As Deokhuun had said, being too far from Seoul would be inconvenient in many ways.
Conversing as they went, the two of them confidently entered through the main gate of the Management Bureau!
Why were they able to enter through the main entrance today, unlike usual?
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to interview Personnel Manager Baek Seongyun. I’m from Sungnim Daily News.”
“One moment… Ah, yes, confirmed. Haha, it seems the Editorial Director came down personally with you. Personnel Manager Seongyun’s popularity is truly remarkable these days, isn’t it?”
“???”
Not quite as intense as the press conference right after he revealed contact with Ilgyeok, but Seongyun was still conducting interviews consistently.
His face had become quite well-known.
Number one most trustworthy-looking civil servant!
Number twelve on elementary school children’s dream careers!
Number five on “This civil servant is amazing” as selected by college students nationwide!
Various surveys testified to Seongyun’s popularity.
It was precisely this popularity that made disguising himself as a reporter a clever move—he wouldn’t stand out among the crowd.
As we passed through the entrance, I could see the Tower Defense members waiting in the lobby were visibly tense.
I had met Deokhuun before, so that was fine.
As for Ihyeon, I had even given him my business card in the past, so his face was familiar to me.
Deokhuun waved his hand in greeting to the Tower Defense members.
“Hello, Hunter.”
“Chung! Sung!”
“…?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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