The Regressed EX-Class Martial God Decided to Become a Thousand-Star Hunter - Chapter 36

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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 36
36.
A face drawn in crimson blood across the gray stone floor.
Jin Woo-Sung rose from his seat, the image burned into his mind by eyes that blazed like fire.
The Necromancer lifted her head, watching his retreating form.
Jin Woo-Sung didn’t so much as glance at her, dismissing her with a wave of his hand as if she were a bother.
“Th-thank you! Thank you!”
The moment the Necromancer sprang to her feet and fled the shadowed alley,
Jin Woo-Sung spoke.
“Gwang-Ho.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“You know the priority, right? The family first. That way it’ll hurt more.”
“Understood.”
Lee Gwang-Ho.
The massive man vanished from the alley without a sound or trace.
The Prophecy User, who had been watching him with quiet eyes, spoke.
“I apologize. My incompetence forced you to come to such a dangerous place yourself……”
“Come on, don’t say that. Prophecy User.”
“Of course, there’s still time until the promised four days……”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
Jin Woo-Sung cut him off.
His eyes gleamed as he stepped directly in front of the Prophecy User.
Simultaneously, a suffocating killing intent radiated outward in all directions.
“Gasp……!”
“Dangerous place, you said? Here? To me?”
“Th-that’s not what I meant…… I’m so, so sorry……”
As the relentless killing intent crushed down, the Prophecy User’s face grew paler with each breath he struggled to draw.
Heh.
Jin Woo-Sung smiled and withdrew his killing intent, patting the man’s shoulder.
“Just kidding.”
……
“Dangerous, though—that’s true. How many monstrous hunters are in Seoul alone? Would I walk away unscathed if I got caught? I understand your concern, really.”
“I apologize.”
“I mean it. And that’s why we need it—Cheonsal-Seong.”
His voice dropped low as he mentioned Cheonsal-Seong at last.
Jin Woo-Sung’s smile faded as he continued.
“Now that we have a face, it shouldn’t take long to find him, right?”
“Within a day—no, within half a day, I’ll resolve it.”
“Good. I’m counting on you.”
Jin Woo-Sung patted his shoulder once more and slipped out of the alley.
The Prophecy User asked,
“Where will you be……?”
Before the question could finish, Jin Woo-Sung’s form vanished.
But his voice lingered.
“I’ll find my way. Since I’m already here, I might as well pick up some spare change while I’m at it.”
“Spare change?”
No answer came to the question.
That was only natural.
Jin Woo-Sung had already completely left the scene.
The Prophecy User shook his head slowly.
‘Killing intent that strikes without warning. Chaos.’
No one deserved the title Cheonsal-Seong more than him.
Fate had not chosen him as Cheonsal-Seong’s bearer on a whim.
Yet, as if to mock that very notion, Cheonsal-Seong had found its new master.
The Prophecy User’s gaze turned toward the face depicted in blood upon the stone floor.
An expressionless visage, eyes hollow and sunken.
‘……Could it be.’
The Prophecy User recalled something for a moment.
He shook his head and stepped out of the alley.
‘I can confirm it when the time comes.’
His thoughts grew only deeper.
* * *
Blue Zone, Ju Do-Gyeom’s residence.
Ju Do-Gyeom was genuinely shocked.
‘She’s going to eat all of this?’
What he’d prepared seemed like more than enough for three people, yet most of it had vanished.
A failure in his portion control?
No.
Lee Seo-A.
She was truly a voracious eater.
To put it bluntly, even Ju Do-Gyeom himself had already set down his chopsticks, yet she was still reaching toward the remaining food.
“This is really delicious! How do you cook so well?”
As she spoke, she offered praise and a thumbs-up in the same breath.
It was a scene he’d witnessed dozens of times already.
Ju Do-Gyeom spoke up.
“You certainly eat with gusto. That’s impressive.”
At that.
Lee Seo-A, who had paused mid-action, slowly set down her chopsticks.
“Oh, I’m stuffed.”
“Suddenly?”
“Truth is, I got full a while ago, but the food was so delicious my hand just kept moving. Hehe… Thank you for the meal.”
As she spoke, she swallowed involuntarily.
Ju Do-Gyeom, seeing this, said:
“You’re welcome to eat more. I’d just have to throw it all away anyway.”
“Throw it away? That’s such a waste. This stuff raises your magical power, doesn’t it? It even applies buffs. This is genuinely rare food you can’t find anywhere in the world. If you just sell it to me, I’ll come back tomorrow and eat some more.”
Ju Do-Gyeom shook his head firmly.
“By tomorrow, it won’t taste the same. Besides, it’s food—it can spoil.”
The loss of magical power was a slight shame, but since none of his cooking required a significant amount of Mana Stones, that wasn’t really a concern.
Buffs were temporary anyway.
If he could never make a dish like this again, it might be different—but since he could make it whenever he wished going forward, there was no point in eating food that risked spoiling.
“But…”
“I’ll make it for you next time.”
“Next time?”
Lee Seo-A’s eyes sparkled.
“Great. When should we do it?”
“……”
“Next week? Or…”
“Let me clean up first and think about it slowly.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Then if you’ll just wait a moment…”
It was as Ju Do-Gyeom began to rise from his chair.
“Wait. I can’t do this.”
Lee Seo-A, her expression hardening with resolve, picked up her chopsticks again.
Her hand moved quickly.
“Mm…! It’s delicious! My magical power’s rising! How could I throw this away!”
Happiness brimmed in her eyes and expression.
At that, Ju Do-Gyeom chuckled softly without thinking and nodded.
‘If she can still eat, then…’
Eating it was better than throwing it away, after all.
His rising body settled back into the chair.
* * *
In the end, the meal concluded with clean dishes.
“At this rate, I won’t even need to wash the dishes, right? Haha!”
Lee Seo-A laughed bashfully and stood up, beginning to clear the plates first.
Ju Do-Gyeom said it wasn’t necessary, but she was relentless.
“I got a free meal, so I should at least do this much.”
“Well, you did give me a house and all…”
“‘Lee Seo-A’ sounds too formal. Just call me Seo-A. Or even more casually if you like?”
“……”
Even as he hesitated, she swiftly gathered up the remaining dishes and hurried into washing them.
Of course, had Ju Do-Gyeom truly resolved to stop her, he could have.
But Lee Seo-A’s momentum swept such objections aside.
After she’d finished tidying up so swiftly,
Lee Seo-A pulled something from her bag.
“Ta-da!”
A green leaf.
Yet it was far from ordinary.
A distinct flow of mana radiated from it.
Ju Do-Gyeom recognized what it was at once.
“An Elf Tea Leaf?”
“Oh? You know about it? There aren’t many circulating in the world yet, so most people have no idea.”
…….
Ju Do-Gyeom fell silent.
Elves.
They were a different race civilization that sometimes appeared in certain special dungeons and occasionally traded with humans.
That’s what he’d thought of them.
Before the Dungeon Eruption began.
Before the point when Earth came under invasion.
Before the prepared Elves crossed the world’s boundaries with weapons in hand.
“O-or… do you dislike it? I’m sorry. I should have…”
“It’s fine. I’ll prepare a different tea instead.”
Ju Do-Gyeom’s home held plenty of tea.
Though naturally, he hadn’t bought any of it.
Lee Seo-A had brought it all.
He’d never tasted any before, but he had a rough sense of how to prepare it.
So he steeped an ordinary tea from Earth.
After savoring the aroma quietly and setting down her cup, Lee Seo-A spoke carefully, watching his face.
“Are you… upset?”
“Pardon?”
“Your expression just now…”
“Did my expression change?”
“No, that’s not it exactly…”
Lee Seo-A trailed off.
In truth, Ju Do-Gyeom’s expression hadn’t shifted at all.
What had changed was the atmosphere around him.
Ju Do-Gyeom, recalling that moment, offered a bitter smile.
He supposed a faint whisper of killing intent might have escaped him without his awareness.
“It seems I’ve been careless. My apologies.”
“No! Don’t say that! It’s my fault for thoughtlessly bringing the Elf Tea Leaf.”
“The leaf itself is blameless, and neither are you for bringing it, Lee Seo-A. Truly, it’s fine. Besides, this tea is really quite good.”
“Really? You like it? Actually, it’s a tea I usually enjoy myself…!”
“You’ve chosen well. It’s the finest I’ve ever tasted.”
In truth, Ju Do-Gyeom understood nothing about tea.
To be precise, he’d never drunk tea before.
He’d never been interested in it, and after becoming a Universal Chef, while he’d developed a refined palate, he’d never turned his attention to beverages.
But did that mean his words just now were merely empty flattery to ease the mood?
If asked, the answer was no.
‘The fragrance really is lovely.’
Could it be the influence of his refined taste, cultivated through the Universal Chef occupation?
A subtle, delicate quality had begun to reveal itself in tea he’d once found entirely unremarkable.
Or perhaps the leaf itself that Lee Seo-A had brought was simply an expensive variety.
‘The mouth speaks truth, as they say.’
A soft laugh escaped him.
It was then that a smile crossed his face unbidden.
“Wow… I didn’t know you could smile like that.”
“Hmm?”
“Just joking. Hehe… Of course you can smile. I was a bit surprised, but I realized your way of speaking is actually quite varied…”
“I see.”
Ju Do-Gyeom nodded.
It had been the same in his previous life.
He was by nature taciturn and impassive, and most people had thought him difficult to approach, as if conversation with him would lead nowhere.
Yet the vast majority of them, after growing closer to Ju Do-Gyeom, had laughed and said the same thing.
—What, Ju Do-Gyeom, you’re way more easygoing than you look! I was worried for nothing. Ha ha ha!
Dang Ho was the sort who would slap his back repeatedly.
He remembers that fellow’s pained expression when his wrist began to hurt.
“Oh, your atmosphere has become remarkably gentler now.”
“……Is that so?”
“Yes. I think I understand now. It’s not so much your expression—it’s that your presence is quite nuanced. You’re someone far more layered than I initially sensed, Ju Do-Gyeom.”
“…….”
Ju Do-Gyeom nodded.
He seemed to recall hearing similar words before.
He pressed on with his question.
“Is it possible you’ve developed some romantic feelings toward me?”
“Pfft—!”
Lee Seo-A, who had been sipping her tea, involuntarily sprayed water across the table.
Flustered, she bolted from her seat and frantically wiped down the surface.
“I’m—I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s fine…….”
“Did any splash on you…….”
“No.”
Ju Do-Gyeom remained seated, waiting for her agitation to settle.
Once the commotion had passed.
Lee Seo-A sat back down and exhaled a long sigh.
“Whew…… You startled me.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, yes. Ah, where were we?”
“I asked whether you had developed romantic feelings toward me.”
“Um…… What made you think that?”
“I’m often told I lack perceptiveness, but I don’t believe I lack it entirely. Your excessive kindness toward me is one clue, and when I consider that the chairman didn’t come here, along with several other circumstances, the pattern seemed rather peculiar.”
“Ah…….”
“Yet I also find it hard to understand. I can’t fathom why you would develop romantic feelings toward me.”
Is it because I saved your life?
That’s not it.
Gratitude and romantic love are separate things, after all.
Lee Seo-A’s eyes grew thoughtful at his words.
For quite some time.
“Mm…….”
Lee Seo-A let out a small sound, then smiled softly and opened her mouth.
“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure myself.”
“I see.”
Ju Do-Gyeom nodded.
That was possible.
Understanding one’s own heart.
He had always thought it far harder than it seemed.
Lee Seo-A felt relieved at his response.
“Thank you for understanding. But it’s really as I say—I do feel grateful toward you, but I’m uncertain whether to call it romantic feelings exactly…….”
“I see.”
“Still, I am curious. I wanted to have a bit more conversation with you. And I thought it would go better if we were alone. That’s why I insisted that Father not come along—kept him from it. He he!”
“But surely the chairman was busy?”
“…….”
“Lee Seo-A?”
“Oh, it’s hot. Heh eh eh eh…….”
Lee Seo-A looked away and fanned herself with her hand.
Without quite meaning to, Ju Do-Gyeom laughed softly—
‘Wait.’
His body tensed slightly.
‘That expression…….’
Something.
The image of “a certain presence” that had always dwelt in his memory began to surface with sudden, devastating clarity.

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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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