Chapter 10

Mina was greatly taken aback after hearing about Huina’s Home Sweet Home skill. She’d never heard of a skill that offered someone a home before.

“That’s an amazing skill. If you want an ordinary, comfortable life like you said, don’t tell anyone about it. It might put you in danger,” Mina suggested.

“Really?”

Since Huina had accepted the free housing without a second thought, she didn’t really understand the huntress’s serious reaction.

Mina repeated her warning to Huina.

“You can take things from the outside world into the house, right? Did it never occur to you that you could be kidnapped and used as a slave for smuggling purposes? Your stats are too low for you to defend yourself effectively, but you have access to special skills. If someone with the wrong intentions approaches you, you’ll be in deep sh*t.”

“Oh!”

Mina was right. Huina swore never to mention the skill to anyone going forward, as she’d demanded.

Her warning aside, Mina was shocked when she saw the pictures of the studio apartment from before Huina had cleaned the place.

“What’s this? I wouldn’t live in it if someone offered me money!”

“M-Mina, I thought you said my skills could be dangerous?”

“Well, even so. This is just too gross!”

That was an incontrovertible fact.

“That’s right. That’s why I spent the last three days cleaning house. I finished just before contacting you today.”

“Can you even clean a place like this?” Mina questioned, doubtful.

Somehow getting the feeling that her skills had just been cast under suspicion, Huina flipped through the photos in her library and showed her the pictures of the housing after she’d finished.

Mina stared at them. The first thing she said was, “This... is the same place? Are you sure it’s not a different apartment?”

“No. I cleaned it all up. I had a skill to help with that, too. It’s called Shrewd Hands.”

“What’s Shrewd Hands?”

Huina read the description of the skill verbatim.

“Shrewd Hands. D-rank. Satisfy everyone with your shrewd touch. A passive skill. That’s what it says.”

“The scope of it seems not to be limited to just cleaning,” Mina remarked.

“I agree with you. I think it helps with housework in general. It boosts my basic skills, as it were.”

“Hmm. This kind of skill seems useful. How about you become a domestic helper? You could upload these pictures and find yourself some lucrative jobs.”

This was finally some practical advice, but Huina shook her head.

“What I want is to be an office worker who goes to work and leaves work at set times. Your idea is tempting, but I would have to work as a freelancer, basically. My income won’t be steady, which will make me nervous, and I won’t have the benefit of employment insurance...”

Mina tutted as Huina raised point after point. “You’re really serious about stability, aren’t you? You’re young, but you don’t have a feisty bone in your body.”

“Safety is best. My life motto is to look before I leap—but also to wait until someone takes the leap first,” Huina said gravely.

“Hmm. I see.”

Mina cupped her chin, lost in thought.

Scratching her head, Huina continued lamely, “In any case, life as a civilian probably fits someone like me best. That’s why I’ve been contacting various companies looking for work.”

“How is that coming along? Jobs are scarce these days.”

This unexpected statement of fact left Huina bruised inside.

“Not very well... B-but I’ve got time. I can take it slow. I’ve been an office worker for five years. Surely I can find myself another job.”

“So you’re job seeking at the moment, but have nothing to do right away, right?”

The high-ranked hunter that she was, it seemed Mina was skilled in poking people where it hurt, and repeatedly at that. Huina nodded unwillingly.

“That’s true. I’d like to start working right away, to be honest, but there’s no opportunity.”

Mina lapsed into thought again, this time pulling her chair close.

Huina sat up straight. There was something serious about the look on Mina’s face. In the end, she licked her lips and made a suggestion.

“How’d you like to work at my guild?”

“What?”

This was completely unexpected, and Huina waved her hand in the air.

“Mina, I’m only D-rank. I barely survived in that E-rank dungeon, remember? My stamina, strength, and dexterity combined don’t even make thirty, and as I said earlier, I have no offensive skills whatsoever. How would I join the Blue Dragon Guild? I know it’s impossible for someone like me, no matter how hard I try.”

The words came fluently from her mouth, the conclusion being that Mina was being absurd.

“Ha ha ha!”

Mina laughed out loud at the sight of Huina’s pale face. She waved her hand as well.

“As I told you earlier, just because you’re part of a guild doesn’t mean you’re a hunter. A guild is a corporation, too, you know. How can you keep a guild running if there are only hunters working in it? There are office workers, management teams, HR, you name it. A guild isn’t so different from the usual company. Just because you work for an entertainment agency doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a celebrity, right? The same rule applies here.”

Huina blushed at the explanation.

“Sorry, I misunderstood...”

“Yeah. So, are you willing to listen to what I have to say now?”

“Yes…” Huina said meekly.

Mina grinned as if she found this cute.

“Someone from the Custodial Team of the Facility Management Division quit recently. The name of the post is... It’s a bit hard to explain, but you’d be a member of the janitorial staff.”

“Don’t large corporations usually outsource the cleaning to a cleaning agency?” Huina pointed out. It was a reasonable question.

Mina replied, “There are security concerns, since hunters frequently come into the building, and a bit of expertise is required. My guild has a separate team for that purpose.”

The answer made sense. What really made Huina’s ears perk up were her next words.

“The position is permanent, too, of course.”

“Permanent?” Huina asked.

“The pay isn’t bad, either, though the work can be tough.”

“How much are we talking?”

“You’ll have to ask HR, but you’ll probably make as much money as the average office worker. You might make even more with incentives or overtime work. How does it sound?”

Mina then revealed her real motive—suggesting that they meet up from time to time to eat meat together and drink.

The generous offer had been driven by her desire for someone as good as Huina to cook her meat for her.

“Hmm.”

Huina grew conflicted, since the suggestion was so sudden.

It was quite appealing, however, and it was abundantly clear to her that it was a golden lifeline of sorts, at a time like this when jobs were so hard to come by.

“Do you think I’d be good at the job?” she inquired.

“Of course! The way I see it, you’d be perfect for the job!”

Mina suddenly made a call.

“Hey, didn’t someone from the Facility Management Division quit last week? Did you find someone to replace them? Why am I asking? Well, I’m just curious. I might know someone. Oh, you don’t want someone young? Don’t worry about it. She’s extremely good at the work. Let me send you some photos of the cleaning she’s done. You’ll love it. The girl is very honest and kind-hearted, too. Yes, yes. I’ll send over the pictures by text. Call me back if you like what you see.”

The call was over in an instant. Mina took the photos from Huina, sent them, then slapped her phone down.

Her phone buzzed not too long after that, presumably with some kind of response.

Huina peered down at the screen, curious to know what it said.

Mina grinned and showed it to her.

[Mokhyeon Kang (HR Team Lead): Not bad. We still need to do an interview, so arrange a date.]

* * *

The next day, Huina wore a hurriedly borrowed suit meant for interviews and stood in front of a huge building.

It was the Blue Dragon Guild.

Who knew I’d be taking an interview so fast?

The opportunity had come so quickly, she hadn’t even had the chance to feel nervous. She wasn’t even tipsy, but the soju she’d drunk yesterday felt like it was still in her system.

“God of the Grill! Huina Lee!” came a loud voice, calling her by a strange, embarrassing nickname, and Huina looked around.

“Over here!”

She supposed it must be Mina Woo, and she was right.

Mina was the only guild member who knew her personally, after all. She strode out of the building and threw her arm around Huina.

“Hey, Huina. So no hangover, then. You look just fine.”

She was acting very familiar considering they’d only met a grand total of two times, but Huina had figured out Mina’s personality somewhat by that point and took it in stride.

Mina was very easy-going, and it showed in the way she acted around other people. She also had a subtle charm that didn’t make others uncomfortable. She had a great personality.

“Neither of us really drank much yesterday, since you were giving me advice on my future,” Huina said.

“Well, you have such a nice way of saying things! The way I see it, if you just go in there today and give a polite hello, they’ll accept you right away.”

Mina laughed loudly and guided Huina inside.

Huina had been unsure how to find her way to the interview room on her own, since she’d never been here before, and it was a relief Mina was there to help.

“Did you come out here because of me?”

“I was the one who introduced you to the guild. Of course I did.”

“I know you must be busy. Thank you,” Huina said with a slight nod.

Mina slapped Huina’s shoulder, saying it was no big deal. Perhaps because she was a high-ranked hunter, even her slaps were slightly painful, but Huina smiled, trying not to show it.

Mina seemed to be famous inside the guild. Multiple people greeted her, and returning all the greetings cheerfully, she led Huina to the interview room.