Pickpocket Kim Sutaek was startled out of his wits.
“What the hell is this guy?”
His own movements had been perfect.
There was no sound, and he hadn’t made any eye-catching moves.
All he’d done was barely brush the tip of his finger against the bracelet.
Yet his wrist had been caught.
‘Huh, how did I get caught? I was perfect!’
There was absolutely no way he should have been discovered.
While Kim Sutaek was still in shock, a voice rang out.
“Wasn’t there a bounty on this pickpocket?”
It was a voice full of hunter’s instinct.
Only then did Kim Sutaek come to his senses.
‘Damn. Caught is caught.’
He had a plan prepared for being caught as well.
Now was the time to put it into action.
‘I haven’t even stolen anything, so what can they do?’
There was no evidence.
He hadn’t managed to steal the bracelet, and the stolen goods he’d taken before had already been stashed in the [Stolen Goods Warehouse].
Kim Sutaek forced himself to calm down and opened his mouth.
“What? What nonsense are you spouting! Who are you calling a pickpocket—what do you take me for?”
As loud as he could.
He shouted to cause a scene.
Passersby began to take notice.
“What’s going on? Pickpocket?”
“Is that the guy with his wrist grabbed—the pickpocket?”
“He says he’s not, though?”
“Would a thief ever admit he’s a thief? Of course he’d deny it.”
“But he really does look wronged. And his voice is loud. Would a normal thief shout that loud?”
“Who knows, whether he’s real or not. These days, with all the talk going around, maybe someone’s getting falsely accused.”
Kim Sutaek was satisfied with the reaction around him.
‘Now, if I just shout and ask if they have any evidence, it’s over.’
There was no way they’d find any evidence.
He felt confident he could get out of this crisis.
Suho watched Kim Sutaek with a curious expression.
‘This pickpocket’s got something up his sleeve.’
From the moment he’d reached for the bracelet, something had felt off.
It was so natural, like water flowing, that if not for his keen senses, it would have been hard to react in time.
‘What’s his plan?’
Even his attitude after being caught was strange.
At first, he was clearly flustered.
But soon he regained his composure, and now he was even shouting louder than before.
After thinking it through, Suho came to a conclusion.
‘He’s just going to play dumb?’
Now that he thought about it, there really wasn’t any physical evidence.
Should he have let him steal the bracelet and then caught him?
While Suho was thinking, more people gathered around.
Amidst the crowd, a familiar voice called out.
“Huh? Hyung, why are you there?”
***
Dongdaemun Item Street.
This place belonged to Sangwangryeon.
Logistics, shops, people—there was nothing here unrelated to Sangwangryeon.
That’s why, when an incident happened, people sought out Sangwangryeon before the authorities.
The recent pickpocket incident was no different.
As the situation escalated, Sangwangryeon stepped in.
Their method: Trap Operation.
Jeong Hyeonsu’s role was Bait.
Dressed up like a rich man, Jeong Hyeonsu was being tailed by Sangwangryeon Hunters.
But then, a commotion broke out nearby.
‘Did they catch the pickpocket?’
Jeong Hyeonsu hurried over to the scene.
There, someone was shouting while their wrist was being held.
Insisting he wasn’t a pickpocket.
But the person holding the wrist looked familiar. Jeong Hyeonsu couldn’t help but step forward.
“Huh? Hyung, why are you here?”
Soon, Suho replied.
“Hyunsu? What’s with your getup?”
Jeong Hyeonsu realized it.
He was covered in jewelry, all dolled up to serve as bait.
“Ah, well… things just turned out this way. But hyung, seriously, what are you doing?”
He couldn’t reveal the Trap Operation.
Jeong Hyeonsu made up an excuse and asked back.
“I came to pick up some goods, and this guy tried to touch my bracelet. So I caught him.”
“Oh, that bracelet?”
“Yeah, the one I got from yesterday’s dungeon.”
“Then is that guy really a pickpocket?”
“Hmm, he definitely tried to swipe my bracelet. Judging by his skills, he’s no ordinary punk.”
At their back-and-forth, Kim Sutaek’s brow furrowed.
If he hesitated, the situation could get worse.
Kim Sutaek started shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Why are you making an innocent person out to be a thief? Just grabbing my wrist makes me a pickpocket? Where’s your evidence? You got any evidence?!”
Suho narrowed his eyes and glared at Kim Sutaek.
“You’re going to play dumb to the end.”
He could tell the stolen goods weren’t on him.
He wouldn’t admit to his crime so easily.
‘Should I just beat him up and hand him over to Sangwangryeon?’
Sangwangryeon would find the evidence.
Jeong Hyeonsu wouldn’t take Suho’s words lightly.
At that moment, a voice pierced his ear.
“Kruk, to one such as me, blessed with the Eye of Truth, all is revealed. The clue to solving this case is right here!”
Suho glanced sideways at Balryong.
‘What was this dragon on about now?’
Suho regretted that he couldn’t send messages mentally like Ballyong.
“Of course, I have no reason to solve this case for a mere wretch like you. But if you repent for your sins last night and prostrate yourself before me, I may grant you a little help. Kukukuk…”
Balryong’s laughter was abruptly cut off.
He’d seen something that shouldn’t be here.
“Huh, why is that broom… That wicked thing, why is it here? That, that can’t be…”
Inside Suho’s palm.
The handle of a broom, just barely poking out from the Dimensional Bag.
‘If you don’t behave, we’ll talk at home.’
Suho repeated silently, as if sending a telepathic warning. Miraculously, it worked.
“…D-damn it. Fine. A being who loves justice such as I can’t let a petty thief like that go unpunished. I’ll tell you how to make him confess!”
What is it?
Suho’s gaze prompted Balryong to continue.
“That tattoo on the guy’s forearm. I sense a special type of magic from it. It’s a spell formula that connects to another dimension.”
Connects to another dimension?
“It’s similar to your Dimensional Bag skill, but much cruder. Because of that, his connection is unstable. If you hit the tattooed area, it’ll spit out whatever’s inside.”
Balryong had accurately pinpointed a weakness in the skill that even Kim Sutaek didn’t know about.
Suho muttered quietly.
“Good, no broom punishment.”
“Of course!”
Kim Sutaek frowned at Suho’s cryptic words.
But what mattered was public opinion and confidence.
He raised his voice even further.
“Where’s your evidence, huh? Evidence! Show me proof I’m a pickpocket! If you don’t let go, I’ll sue you!”
Suho smirked and replied.
“Evidence, huh.”
Suho’s hand moved like lightning.
Kim Sutaek couldn’t react at all.
Smack!
Suho’s palm struck Kim Sutaek’s forearm.
“Argh! You just hit an innocent person! Everyone saw you—hey, you’re hitting me… huh? Huh?!”
Clatter—
Clink clink clink—
All sorts of items poured out of the air near Kim Sutaek’s forearm.
“Who did you say was innocent?”
Suho asked coldly.
Kim Sutaek’s face went pale.
“N-no way! How, how did the warehouse open? I didn’t even want it to!”
Jeong Hyeon-su shouted to the Sangwangryeon Hunters.
“Get him, that bastard!”
***
Park Dong-sik hurled the ashtray.
He kept getting angrier and angrier.
“Damn that pot lid bastard! I’ll kill him!”
The Hunter Training Institute was supposed to be the grand start of his Hunter career.
But thanks to that damned guy, Park Dong-sik’s hopes had turned to bubbles.
“Because of that bastard, my Hunter Registration got suspended, and my father… damn it!”
His Hunter Registration was postponed for three months.
The reason: using his skill with intent to harm.
Getting beaten so badly by Suho was the only reason it ended there.
But his father’s sword was the real problem.
When the stolen sword broke, he got beaten by his father for the first time in his life, all night long.
“Damn it all…”
Park Dong-sik cursed as he recalled that time.
Knock knock—
He heard a knock, and a familiar voice called out.
“Hyungnim, it’s Go Min-oh.”
“Come in.”
As Go Min-oh entered, Park Dong-sik quickly asked,
“So, what did you find out?”
“Yes. I checked, and that guy really is a newbie.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Yes, really. He just ran a little item shop. The place was about to go under, too. And he hasn’t even joined a Guild.”
“Really?”
“Yes, absolutely. I found out through someone I know. He’s not in any of the Three Great Guilds, or even a mid-sized Guild.”
Park Dong-sik grinned slyly.
“So, he’s got no big backers?”
“But I did hear he’s close to Sangwangryeon.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know Jeong Hyeon-su, right? The guy who went to the same academy as us. He’s the Sangwangryeon heir. There’s a rumor that guy hangs out with Suho.”
Park Dong-sik frowned.
He remembered Jeong Hyeon-su.
One of the few people at the academy no one dared mess with.
“But he’s not in a Guild, right?”
“No, he’s not officially part of Sangwangryeon. I think Suho somehow talked Jeong Hyeonsu into it. Jeong Hyeonsu has money, after all.”
“So, you’re saying pot lid is only strong because he’s getting something from Jeong Hyeonsu?”
“That’s the only way the situation makes sense.”
“So he’s not officially with Sangwangryeon?”
“Yes, that’s for sure.”
“I see…”
A chilling light flashed in Park Dong-sik’s eyes.
***
“Is this for real?”
Jeong Hyeona was reading a report in her office.
The report came from the Dungeon Management Team.
It was about the dungeon entry times for Jeong Hyeonsu and Suho.
“How could they clear their second dungeon in less than four hours?”
With just the two of them, at that.
Jeong Hyeona couldn’t believe the report.
It said Jeong Hyeonsu and Suho had cleared the Blade Spider Dungeon in just three and a half hours.
And it was supposed to be much harder than the Needle Hedgehog Dungeon they’d first gone to…
“Just what kind of person is this Suho?”
Her curiosity about Suho only grew.
But there was no way to find out.
All because of those Special Contract Terms.
“I shouldn’t have done something so unnecessary back then…”
Jeong Hyeona recalled her own rude actions.
Whenever she thought about it, she wanted to kick her blanket in frustration at night.
“If I’d just been a little nicer, maybe I could have gotten him to join Sangwangryeon…”
While Jeong Hyeona was lost in her own daydreams, the office door burst open.
“Who is it! No knocking?!”
She shouted.
But the person who entered was even louder.
“Noona! Amazing! Suho-hyung did it again!”
“What? Suho? Did Won Suho go to a dungeon again?”
“No, listen, noona. Suho-hyung caught the pickpocket!”
“Why did Won Suho catch a pickpocket?”
Jeong Hyeona was dumbfounded.
They had set up an operation today because of the pickpocket.
But why did Suho, who had nothing to do with it, suddenly show up?
“I don’t know. Anyway, Suho-hyung caught him. He even recovered all the stolen goods. Haha. He’s in the meeting room—let’s go.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Jeong Hyeona followed her younger brother to the meeting room.
There, Suho was waiting, sitting in a chair.
“Won Suho-ssi, I heard you caught the pickpocket?”
“Yes, it just happened that way. But we meet again.”
Only then did Jeong Hyeona realize she hadn’t even greeted him.
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
Jeong Hyeona hurriedly greeted him.
Right away, Suho spoke up.
“Hyunsu saw pretty much everything, so you can ask him about how I caught him. By the way, I heard there was a bounty—was that true?”
They had decided to put up a bounty, but it hadn’t been announced yet.
If today’s Trap Operation failed, they were planning to announce it right away.
‘Let’s not make things complicated again!’
Jeong Hyeona thought, and answered honestly.
“Yes, it hasn’t been announced yet, but we decided to put up a bounty.”
“I see. And I also recovered all the stolen goods for you, didn’t I?”
From Suho’s tone, Jeong Hyeona sensed he wanted something.
“I don’t think you’re asking for the bounty. Is there something else you want?”
She had no choice but to ask.
“Yes, I don’t need the bounty. But could you supply me with food ingredients? In bulk, regularly. No fixed term.”
“Ingredients? What do you need those for…?”
Suho grinned.
It was the same look he’d had when signing the contract.
Jeong Hyeona understood the meaning of that smile.
‘Don’t pry, just do your job.’
“Alright. But since there’s no set term, I can’t give it to you for free. I’ll send it at cost, but…”
I’ll deduct the value of the stolen goods and the bounty.
She added.
“That’s more than enough. And there’s one more thing…”
With the food problem solved,
Suho brought up his next request.
“I’d also like to get some Rapid-Set Cement.”
It was to help build the Dwarf Village.
Rapid-Set Cement that hardens quickly and strong.
If he could get it, it would be a huge help.
But, it required certain monster byproducts to manufacture, so production volume was extremely low. The price was steep.
“What, are you planning to build a school in a developing country or something?”
“Well, something like that. It’s nothing bad, so don’t worry. Is it possible?”
“Yes, I’ll have to check the quantity, but we should have some stockpiled in our Warehouse.”
“That’s great. Send me whatever you have.”
“Alright. I’ll connect you with the person in charge, so discuss the details about the food as well.”
“Thank you very much.”
Suho smiled brightly.