I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 86

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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 86
Ep. 86
How long had I engaged in this battle of wills with the store clerks, retreating and advancing in turn?
“Oh, I actually do need a cup…”
Suyeon stopped in her tracks upon discovering a cup that caught her eye perfectly.
Since she had broken one while washing dishes not long ago and had been considering buying a replacement, this discovery was all the more welcome.
But what good was finding a cup she liked?
There I stood, unable to even enter the store, wasting time deliberating outside.
Yet she seemed to like it enough that she couldn’t simply walk away as she normally would.
‘What should I say when I go in? That I came to look at cups? But if I say that and immediately buy this one, won’t it be too obvious? How much is this cup? That sounds cheap somehow… No, do customers even need to say anything when entering? The clerk might not even pay attention to me…’
Dealing with ferocious monsters was simple—just plant an arrow between their brows and be done with it.
And the soldiers I encountered in the field were professional contacts, so there was no room for such deliberation; I simply exchanged necessary words and moved on.
But the problem was that I had no manual for everyday conversation stored in my mind.
About three minutes had passed since I began loitering in front of the store.
Whoosh—
I sensed a presence approaching from behind.
“…?!”
Startled, I tensed my entire body.
No matter how poorly I entered stores or how awkwardly I spoke to clerks, I was still South Korea’s Rank 1 Hunter.
It was fair to say I kept my senses attuned to everyone passing near me.
Yet somehow, this person who had just appeared—
‘Why did I detect them so late? A Hunter?’
To put it dramatically, I hadn’t noticed them until they appeared right behind me.
This kind of experience was something I only felt occasionally within the Tower.
If this person was a Hunter, their level would be roughly 70th Floor or above?
It would depend on their characteristics and skills, but at minimum it had to be that level or higher.
Part of the reason I detected them so late was because they weren’t emanating hostility, but even if they weren’t…
My already complicated thoughts became even more tangled.
Regardless, the mysterious assailant who had suddenly appeared behind me—though to be fair, they had actually been walking at a perfectly ordinary pace—revealed their purpose.
“Are you looking to buy a cup?”
It was Ihyeon, who had just managed to catch a breath after separating Jia and Elsie.
“Huh? What?”
How did he know?!
Meanwhile, I was startled.
…Anyone would notice if someone loitered in front of a single cup for several minutes, but I hadn’t been aware of my own behavior.
‘S-should I run?’
I considered whether I should retreat using the backstep technique honed in the Tower, as I had before.
But there was a problem even if the other person wasn’t trying to attack me.
My usual movements were classified information.
If my identity were exposed after coming out alone to the shopping mall, the world would become chaotic, and the Management Bureau staff would certainly be stressed accordingly.
Thump—thump—
Behind the sunglasses, my pupils trembled slightly, my mouth fumbled wordlessly, and my hands fidgeted restlessly.
Unable to bear watching any longer, Ihyeon spoke again.
“I’ve noticed you standing in front of this cup since earlier, so I thought I’d ask. Isn’t that a cup with Elmon drawn on it?”
“Oh…? You know about Elmon?”
Only then did Suyeon show a proper reaction.
Elmon was a character from a cartoon that had been airing since quite long ago.
Though it continued to air even now, there were few people in Ihyeon and Suyeon’s age group who remembered it.
A single character was rapidly nurturing an internal sense of intimacy within Suyeon’s heart!
Meanwhile, Ihyeon nodded slightly as he observed Suyeon’s expression.
‘Definitely suspicious.’
Suspicious clothing, suspicious behavior.
Now that I was closer, that conviction grew even stronger.
I hadn’t brought up the character Elmon without reason.
When discovering a suspicious person in daily life, such a natural approach was necessary to prevent any unfortunate misunderstandings.
‘They definitely tried to run away when I approached.’
It was useless for such a person to pretend to know about Elmon later and try to cover their tracks.
Moreover, the aura I sensed was far from ordinary.
Though I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, this was quite a powerful Hunter.
I smiled with certainty and spoke.
“I watched it often when I was young too.”
Then Suyeon hesitated for a moment before gathering courage to answer.
“It’s still airing. Season 24—episode 83 aired yesterday.”
“?”
Not a suspicious person?
My confidence wavered at the opponent’s knowledge, which seemed better informed about Elmon than expected.
Season 24?
‘And does someone usually remember which episode aired yesterday? Unless they’re watching cartoons all day at home?’
…I never realized I had actually guessed correctly.
Meanwhile, Suyeon, who had unconsciously mentioned the latest episode of Elmon out of joy, changed her thoughts about Ihyeon slightly.
‘Since he even knows about Elmon, he seems like a better person than I thought. Besides, it looks like he came to help when he saw me hesitating, so he can’t be a bad person.’
No matter how much one covered their face, one couldn’t hide the emotional changes that leaked outward.
I was somewhat taken aback by Suyeon’s noticeably more relaxed demeanor.
‘The atmosphere clears up just because of this? Does she not usually talk with people?’
…I never realized I had guessed correctly once again.
In any case, Suyeon asked brightly, unaware of my thoughts.
“Did you happen to watch Elmon yesterday?”
“Oh, no. I didn’t watch it.”
I only knew about it—it had been well over ten years since I’d actually watched that cartoon.
“Ah… I see.”
“…Yes.”
The atmosphere froze in an instant, so abruptly that it felt suffocating.
Suyeon, who could only meet with a liaison officer and security personnel, had encountered Ihyeon, who was in a similar predicament—what could one expect?
But at that moment, Ihyeon smiled brightly, caught a glimpse of Suyeon’s face as she briefly removed her mask, and was startled.
“…!”
‘It’s Seo Suyeon?!’
Why on earth was South Korea’s number one ranked Divine Archer here?!
I had suspected she was a powerful Hunter, but I never imagined she’d be this strong!
Though Suyeon rarely engaged in public activities, her face was well-known through her track record up to this point.
As the owner of striking beauty, she was famous even overseas—a single photograph of her would be used as media footage for months on end. How could I not recognize her?
The moment Ihyeon realized his opponent was Seo Suyeon, his calculations became complicated.
‘Wait, I was the suspicious one….’
According to rumors circulating online, the number one ranked Suyeon always had strict security around her.
And yet, the mysterious Hunter Ilgyeok had approached her of his own volition?
From Ihyeon’s perspective, it was nothing short of a self-inflicted blunder.
‘As long as I’m not discovered, that’s all that matters. I need to leave quickly!’
Ihyeon’s eyes darted around like lightning.
Fortunately, security personnel were nowhere to be seen, and there was no sign of anything suspicious.
‘These terrifying people from the Ministry of Defense… deploying Seo Suyeon just to catch a single discharged soldier?’
Ihyeon shuddered inwardly.
Somehow, the Divine Archer Seo Suyeon shouldn’t be this careless.
Setting such a cunning trap to target a well-meaning discharged soldier trying to help a troubled citizen!
…Ihyeon had completely forgotten that he himself had suspected Suyeon of being the suspicious one.
“Yes, then please enjoy your purchase, and I have urgent matters to attend to, so I’ll be going….”
Now that Ihyeon knew who his counterpart was, there was no point in lingering any longer.
But then.
“Um….”
“…Yes?”
Suyeon stopped Ihyeon in his tracks.
Suyeon spoke to him in a troubled voice.
“I’m not very good at this sort of thing… would it be too much trouble to ask you to come along with me?”
“….”
Ihyeon didn’t answer immediately and hesitated for a moment.
This could also be part of an operation to arrest him after she’d identified his true identity.
Suyeon, interpreting Ihyeon’s silence on her own, spoke dejectedly.
“I suppose that won’t work….”
“Let’s go.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Ihyeon finally nodded in agreement.
As a former soldier who had made it my mission to serve the people, I simply couldn’t walk past someone in such distress.
Even if it might be a trap, I would gladly fall into it to help someone in need!
The moment Ihyeon entered the shop, he picked up the cup Suyeon had been examining and brought it to the counter.
“How much is it?”
“That will be 30,000 won.”
“Ah, here….”
Suyeon, who had been listening from beside him, quickly produced her card.
Even if Ihyeon handled the conversation, she had to be the one to pay.
With that resolve, Suyeon had already prepared her card the moment they entered the shop.
The purchase was completed in an instant, and Suyeon and Ihyeon walked out with the beautifully wrapped cup nestled in a shopping bag.
“Elmon….”
Suyeon was absolutely delighted with the cup, repeatedly peering into the shopping bag with joy.
Then she suddenly came to her senses.
“Wow, you’re really amazing!”
“…?”
She praised Ihyeon.
How could she speak so naturally to a complete stranger like that?
Of course, Ihyeon didn’t understand why he was being praised just for buying a single cup — and Suyeon had even paid for it herself.
“Yes, well, I hope you enjoy the cup. Then I’ll be on my way….”
With his business concluded, he was genuinely trying to leave.
“Oh, wait a moment….”
Suyeon called out to Ihyeon again.
“Actually, there was also a bag I wanted to buy….”
“….”
The bag she hadn’t been able to purchase earlier was still on her mind!
When Ihyeon said nothing, she was about to apologize preemptively again.
“Let’s go.”
Ihyeon couldn’t simply overlook the pleading look in Suyeon’s eyes.
Unlike Jia or Elsie, Suyeon had a way of captivating people with a different charm.
At Ihyeon’s agreement, Suyeon broke into a bright smile.
“Actually, I saw a bag with Dorothy on it on the way here. Have you ever watched the Magical Girl Dorothy anime?”
“I haven’t.”
“Then, what about the manga?”
“The manga too… I think I might have seen it when the girls in my class were reading it back in elementary school….”
“Oh, so you do know Magical Girl Dorothy! Season 15 just finished airing recently.”
‘…It’s still going?’
Ihyeon reluctantly stirred his memory and nodded, while Suyeon laughed without restraint.
There was actually a reason Suyeon had stopped Ihyeon.
‘From the way he speaks, he seems to be military!’
Suyeon, who had frequently assisted with Instant Tower and Gate operations, inevitably encountered soldiers managing the sites.
So she had become quite familiar with the speech patterns of soldiers, and Ihyeon unmistakably carried that same air!
For Suyeon, such a thought naturally arose.
‘Huiju must have known I came here and arranged for someone to watch over me beforehand.’
Originally, she probably intended to observe me in secret, but seeing how awkwardly I was moving about, she decided to lend a hand out of pity.
That’s why she kept trying to slip away like that.
With that understanding, it made perfect sense that I hadn’t sensed her approach until she was right behind me.
I had never particularly enjoyed how people grew distant from me simply because I was the Divine Archer.
After all, I harbored a sincere wish to live an ordinary life.
This opportunity felt like a chance to show him how approachable I could actually be.
Fortunately, whether he had grasped my sincerity or not (?), he hadn’t outright rejected my request.
‘And somehow, this person seems quite knowledgeable about anime too… the atmosphere feels comfortable.’
Had Ihyeon known my true thoughts, he would have vehemently denied them as a complete misunderstanding, but regardless, the two of us began this awkward companionship, each harboring our own hidden agendas.
Thanks to this, I was able to acquire quite a few items I had wanted to purchase.
Most of them were merchandise featuring characters I regularly enjoyed watching.
“Here, thank you so much for accompanying me.”
“Such things are hardly necessary….”
And finally, even a character badge of what I could truly call my favorite character, ‘Doro-Doro Dorori’!
Ihyeon, who had never worn a character badge in his entire life, initially tried to decline, but Suyeon insisted so persistently that he reluctantly accepted.
‘Well, I just won’t wear it if I don’t want to.’
But that wasn’t the end of it.
“And um… would you perhaps like to exchange Halo IDs?”
An exchange of Halo IDs—the essential SNS of modern people!
For me, it was arguably the greatest act of courage in my entire life.
My muscles tensed throughout my entire body more than they had when I first entered the Tower.
“I… don’t actually have a Halo ID.”
“!”
At Ihyeon’s completely unexpected response, I was utterly taken aback.
But it was a lie.
Ihyeon did possess a Halo ID.
Nowadays, you needed to have a Halo account just to do simple sign-ups anywhere.
It was simply an empty account with no photos or posts whatsoever.
‘There’s no real need to exchange accounts… and there won’t be any reason to contact each other in the future anyway.’
Even if he were actively using it, there was no way Ihyeon would share his account with Suyeon!
But Suyeon was actually relieved.
‘I did ask just now, but thinking about it, I barely use Halo at all….’
My Halo account was in slightly better shape than his.
I had uploaded a few promotional posts to receive rewards from connecting SNS in various games.
If I had shared that account, he would have wondered, ‘What kind of person is this?’
And if he ever discovered my true identity later, it would have been even more problematic.
In the end, I decided to use a more traditional method.
“Then how about your phone number…?”
“Ah… yes, then….”
Refusing to exchange contact information twice felt awkward.
If someone happened to be watching and thought, ‘Rejecting the Divine Archer’s contact exchange? That guy seems suspicious. Could he be Ilgyeok?’ wouldn’t I be forced to re-enlist without question!
In the end, I fumbled out my phone and gave her my number.
Suyeon asked carefully.
“May I ask your name…?”
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Park, Park Ihyeon.”
“Ah, yes, Mr. Park Ihyeon.”
And as I naturally tried to save Suyeon’s number as ‘Seo Suyeon,’ my hand froze.
‘Should I reveal that I’ve figured out her identity?’
That didn’t seem like a good choice.
“Your, your name is…?”
“Yes? Oh, ah!”
Suyeon, who believed I was her secret security detail.
‘Why is he asking for my name?’
There was no way her security detail wouldn’t know her name, but Suyeon quickly deduced the reason with sharp intuition.
‘He still thinks I don’t know~’
Indeed, there was no one who loved manga and wasn’t clever.
Even if I say so myself, I’m South Korea’s number one ranked hunter, Seo Suyeon!
…Suyeon believed her intuition was above average.
Suyeon smiled and decided to play along with my lead.
“I’m ‘Kim’ Suyeon. ‘Kim’ Suyeon.”
“Ah…. Yes, Ms. Kim Suyeon.”
I nodded vaguely and saved her number.
Suyeon bowed slightly and thanked me.
“Thank you for today. I’ll definitely repay you.”
“What? No, I didn’t help you expecting anything in return.”
“No, I’m just grateful.”
What a good person!
Suyeon was moved once more by my character and waved before leaving.
‘…Does that mean you won’t report me to the Defense Ministry right away?’
I couldn’t understand what Suyeon meant by repaying me and tilted my head in confusion.
From the looks of it, she hadn’t figured out that I was Ilgyeok yet.
‘Well, someone of the Divine Archer’s status wouldn’t contact me individually anyway. It was probably just courtesy.’
I thought nothing of it and turned around.
At least it wasn’t a trap from the Defense Ministry—that was a relief.
Whoosh—
And before me, who had just turned around, two figures appeared like shadows.
“…Oh, did you finish shopping for clothes?”
It was Elsie in a yellow tracksuit and Jia, looking at me expressionlessly.
“Master, who was that?”
“I don’t know. She just seemed to be having trouble finding something, so I helped her out.”
“That’s quite the explanation, but you two were together for quite a while.”
“She had a lot of things to buy….”
I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet my voice came out hesitant—quite unlike my usual self!
Unlike Elsie, who wore a playful smile, Jia stared calmly in the direction where Suyeon had disappeared and spoke.
“She is an exceptionally strong person.”
“Huh?”
I reacted with surprise.
Was it because she was S+ rank that she could discern someone’s strength just by looking at them?
It wasn’t particularly strange, come to think of it.
Though I tended to be scatterbrained, I had certainly felt the aura emanating from Suyeon.
But would I ever meet Suyeon again?
I shook my head.
‘Unless I climb up to the 80th Floor range, there’s no way that would happen.’
From the start, meeting her in this shopping mall had been nothing but a series of coincidences.
Even if she reached out, I could simply deflect and move on.
Once I climbed to the 80th Floor range, Suyeon would likely forget about me anyway.
It was difficult to remember the face of someone you’d merely brushed past in a shopping mall for so long.
“Ehehe….”
“Don’t laugh like that, squirt.”
“Squirt?! I’ll have you know I’m the Legendary Sword Elsie!”
“Sure, sure.”
I dismissed it casually, keeping my hand on Elsie’s head as I walked toward the parking lot.
“H-hey… get your hand off my head!”
Elsie squirmed, but there was nothing else she could do about it.
Meanwhile, Suyeon, having parted ways with me.
‘Well, I didn’t meet Ilgyeok, but this was still fun!’
Though I hadn’t achieved the purpose I’d hoped for when coming to the shopping mall, it had been a sufficiently worthwhile outing.
“Oh, I should contact Huiju to thank her.”
I was courteous enough not to forget to express my gratitude to Huiju for thoughtfully assigning a secret bodyguard to me!
– Yes, Suyeon. What brings this on? There’s no need to worry about the report—please rest comfortably.
“Hehe, I just wanted to thank you.”
– Thank me? All of a sudden?
“You assigned a bodyguard… and thanks to that, I was able to shop comfortably.”
– A bodyguard? What do you mean….
In any case, the Management Bureau people were too thorough—that was the problem.
There was no real need for all that!
‘I’m Seo Suyeon, Seo Suyeon~’
Though I understood perfectly well, I nodded to myself, pretending not to notice so Huiju wouldn’t be troubled.
“Then I’ll see you in a few days!”
– Yes? Ah… Yes, Hunter. Please get plenty of rest.
Suyeon was able to return home with a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in quite some time.

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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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