Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

---

Chapter 382

“Has the blood finally unblocked, or did someone hear a rumor about a housewarming?”

From that moment on, messages began to pour in, and Yeon-woo’s house was suddenly packed with guests.

“Ugh, Uaaah, Riley…! Help me…!!”

Nea managed to host the one Leviathan guest well enough, but when another one arrived, panic started creeping in.

As the number of guests grew, beads of cold sweat began to trickle down her perfectly composed face.

In a desperate bid to escape, Nea dashed to the restroom and hastily grabbed her smartphone to send out an SOS.

However, Riley was out, and help wasn’t going to come for a few more hours…

Anyway, there was no need to panic. Yeon-woo would be back soon. Riley would come, well, eventually. Until then, she just needed to maintain the perfect image of a wife.

With her mind set, Nea headed to the living room carrying a tray full of fruits, only to find the door had been opened.

Could it be yet another guest? Just as the thought flashed through her mind, the door swung open, revealing none other than Riley.

“Nea, you’ve worked hard. I’ll help you.”

“Wh-What about work? How did you get here already?”

Riley rolled up her sleeves confidently as if to say, “Leave it to me,” nearly bringing tears to Nea’s eyes as she responded.

Nea hurriedly set down the tray among the guests and returned to the kitchen with Riley. Talking in front of the guests felt a bit off.

“Don’t worry, I have some unused leave piled up, so you don’t have to stress.”

“That’s… worrying for another reason…”

Is our company a black corporation…? Should I tell Yeon-woo to look into employee welfare? Nea thought, but Riley shook her head vigorously.

“It’s nothing to worry about. Some minor perks can be compensated with a huge salary.”

Indeed, Nea was well aware that salaries at the research institute were quite high.

Considering she started earning well only recently, it seemed acceptable, so she thought nothing more of it.

Regardless, she was grateful Riley had come to help. A refreshing will to endure until Yeon-woo arrived began to bubble up within her.

“Let’s hang in there…!!”

“Leave it to me.”

With a stiff tone yet a faint smile, Riley nodded, exuding the dependable aura of a thousand troops.

Riley arranged the prepared food on the tray and headed back to the living room.

Honestly, if they had known the guests, Nea wouldn’t have been so tense. After all, the specific guests present were what mattered.

In that sense, out of the five visitors, only one of them was familiar to Nea, making her all the more anxious.

Five guests were seated at the table, engaged in conversation.

Vampire Lord, Delain. Samiryun-ju, Dooko-hyun. Heir of the Sword Clan, Albert Lionel. Leviathan’s subordinate, Jiz, and the next head of the Gongson family, Gongson-bin.

*

“What a peculiar gathering we have here.”

Dooko-hyun chuckled, raising his wine glass. The others joined in the laughter, except for Albert, who remained stiff.

This lineup is… a bit excessive, don’t you think? He thought, remaining rigid.

“I’ve been hearing your name from various places. How about letting me taste your blood? I’m dying to know.”

“Haha, if you want, I can let you taste it. It’s like a health check-up!”

“Khahak, so it’s true that one can tell about health from the taste of blood!”

Delain smiled elegantly and raised his wine glass. His image of drinking wine with warm cheese was a perfect embodiment of nobility.

“So, why don’t we take a moment to reveal why we’re here, especially since I’m particularly curious about your matters?”

Dooko-hyun, munching on food, glanced at Gongson-bin, knowing he was the one among them with the least connection to Yeon-woo.

They might have crossed paths in the Dragon Club, but they likely hadn’t spoken.

“Haha, what could it be, Samiryun-ju?”

Despite Dooko-hyun’s blatant stare, Gongson-bin smiled unfazed. Even Albert felt a twinge of respect for him.

Is he that unfazed even under the gaze of such a formidable opponent? I thought he was around the same age as me.

“It must pertain to our world. As you know, given the circumstances.”

With those words, Albert’s expression darkened. It was true. Both Alkeion and the martial world were facing an unprecedented crisis.

In light of the Demon King’s agitation, it wasn’t a matter of fighting but rather searching for Yeon-woo, which pricked at Albert’s heart.

Both sides were urgent. No one could prioritize their agenda. Not even Choi Yeon-woo could divide those priorities.

They could merely act as their hearts directed. That was the only expectation they could have of Choi Yeon-woo.

There was no other choice. It would be impossible to ask him to give up one side of the world.

Dooko-hyun widened his eyes in surprise, “Hah, you old-timer came here just to eat, but these young ones are truly something else!”

Noticing Dooko-hyun’s wine glass was empty, Jiz picked up the bottle.

“Thank you so much~!” With a tilted head, Dooko-hyun was overflowing with drink.

“Truly the collateral branch of the royal family, you love your world so much.”

At those words, Gongson-bin’s smile slightly twisted. The Gongson family was a collateral branch created to govern the martial world.

They swore loyalty to the legitimate lineage, preventing power grabs due to their bloodline.

Yet, with the emperor and all legitimate heirs dying while protecting the final line of defense for the people, they were the only ones left eligible for the throne.

The Gongson family was all too aware of this fact. Their blood screamed at them to seize the vacant throne.

It wasn’t disloyalty or mere greed stuck to their blood.

It was the “Throne” calling out to them.

“Wanting to regain lost lands is something everyone desires.”

Gongson-bin sipped his tea. For a moment, the air turned cold, but soon began flowing smoothly again as if nothing had happened.

Taking a deep breath, Albert sighed in relief.

*

“I’m back… what in the world are all these shoes?”

“Oh, welcome back, little brat!”

As Yeon-woo opened the front door, countless shoes lined up neatly.

His face scrunched up at the sight, and a familiar voice echoed from inside.

Samiryun-ju? Why is that old man in our house?

As those thoughts crossed his mind, he entered the living room to discover it wasn’t just Samiryun-ju. Yeon-woo furrowed his brows at the sight.

No way, did they hold a fan meeting there too?

“Khahak, what a disrespectful little brat! If you see an old man, you should greet him properly instead of scowling?! Want me to wipe that face off your head, or what!?”

“Don’t expect it to be that easy. No, more importantly, what’s going on here? How did a gathering of such mismatched folks happen?”

The most ridiculous of them all was Albert Lionel, looking pale like he had just been pleading for his life while staring at Yeon-woo.

Rescuing Albert from there seemed to be the priority.

“A housewarming, you brat. A housewarming. Since you moved and didn’t invite anyone, they were all waiting for you to give a hint!”

“Oh, a housewarming… How did these otherworldly folks know about that tradition?”

This was a somewhat understandable explanation for the seemingly random collection of visitors.

He hadn’t invited them. He had been quite busy needing treatments and doing a lot of things.

Yet, did they have a reason to come anyway?

With those thoughts, Yeon-woo stated he’d go change clothes and headed towards the kitchen.

“Nea, Riley. What in the world happened?”

“Yeon-woo is here…!! I missed you so much…!!”

Nea rushed to Yeon-woo with a soft face that looked like she would cry from joy.

Yeon-woo felt happy seeing her like that. Hmm, this housewarming seems quite effective! Maybe they should do it more often?

Gently stroking Nea’s beautiful blonde hair, he shifted his gaze to Riley.

Riley skillfully finished preparing a dish and washed her hands, then said, “It seems Shar invited Leviathan.”

“… Ah.”

It was already understood, but in this era, housewarmings especially stemmed from the host’s invitation.

Since they moved, saying, “Come over to check out the place,” was often the reason guests found it easier to visit.

And with the job of a Hunter usually keeping one away from home, it meant, “I’m free now, come over!” during off days.

So, when a friend moved, people would keep an eye on the house. In this context, Shar had invited Leviathan.

When Shar heard this, he’d likely clap his hands and think, “No wonder Leviathan hasn’t been visiting recently!”

At any rate, by inviting Leviathan, Shar started the housewarming raid.

Surely, with these five guests, and counting Leviathan, there would surely be more dropping by from tomorrow onwards, likely those who considered themselves familiar.

“We’re in for a few tough days.”

“Looks like it… I knew there was a term housewarming, but that’s how it goes…”

Uninvited guests were inevitable. This event also served as a survival check-in, and confirming beforehand became the standard in this country.

Well, it seems to be a unique culture that isn’t found in many other countries, so it might be an international standard by now.

“I’ll help, so don’t worry too much. Should Riley… take a few days off from the lab?”

“I don’t think we should let the researchers laze around.”

“Is that so….”

Well, that wasn’t entirely wrong. Since Riley was voluntarily taking leave while working, the others were likely using their leave properly. It might be time for Riley to take full advantage of those days.

The researchers would likely be in awe, not at the fact that the director wasn’t there, but rather that she was finally taking leave.

“Then I should go chat with the guests. Both of you, hang in there.”

“Got it. Yeon-woo, take care as well.”

It felt like heading into battle. Yeon-woo swallowed hard.

(To be continued…)