I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

15.

While it was important to find out what had happened, taking care of Sehun’s meal was more crucial.

Jian took Sehun to a nearby handmade burger place. As soon as they left the café, Sehun clung to Jian’s leg, but when Jian picked him up, he comfortably rested his head on Jian’s shoulder.

“What are we going to eat?”

“We’re going to have hamburgers. Is there anything else you’d like to eat?”

With the sudden influx of customers, Jian hadn’t had the chance to look after Sehun properly. He had originally planned to assess Sehun’s Korean language skills during a quiet period, but that plan had fallen through.

It was so busy that he could barely speak to Sehun, so he just had the child do coloring books all day to keep him occupied.

Admirably, Sehun sat quietly in his seat and colored an entire book without any complaints.

“I like hamburgers.”

Sehun smiled brightly and nuzzled his cheek against Jian’s shoulder. Pleased to see the child excited about the prospect of delicious food, Jian opened the door to the burger shop.

“Welcome.”

The owner, who had been cleaning up tables after customers left, looked up at the sound of the bell and widened his eyes upon seeing Jian. His expression was as if he had met someone he knew, which made Jian tense.

Jian didn’t know this person. Wondering if it might be someone the original body’s owner knew, his mouth went dry. He only had basic information about the body’s owner from the first day of possession, but nothing beyond that.

“Oh, aren’t you the owner of that café across the street?”

“Ah, yes. Hello.”

What a relief. Judging by the tone, they weren’t close acquaintances, just someone who recognized him from running a nearby café.

“You had a lot of customers today.”

“Haha, yes. I was surprised too. It suddenly increased.”

“I think I know why.”

The owner smiled meaningfully as he guided Jian and Sehun to a table inside.

Jian set Sehun down on a chair first and sat next to him. The table was too high for the child, with only his face barely reaching above it.

As Jian was considering putting the child back on his lap, the owner approached with two cushions.

“These should help with the height. Our tables are a bit high for children to sit at.”

“Thank you.”

Jian responded with a gentle smile, appreciating the owner’s kindness.

“You can order using this.”

“Okay.”

The owner pointed to a tablet PC attached to the table. Water and glasses were already on the table, and when he opened a drawer underneath, he found utensils and wet wipes.

Jian set out the utensils and tissues on the table and tapped the screen to show Sehun the menu items sold at the shop.

“Do you want to choose what you’d like to eat, Sehun? You can pick several things. We can take leftovers home.”

“Okay.”

The child’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the screen. After Sehun chose two burger items, Jian added one more of each and ordered plenty of side dishes.

The total came to quite a bit, but with the inventory full of by-products from the Clams, it felt like an insignificant amount.

The food came out quickly. The owner brought a tray loaded with their ordered items and set them down on the table one by one.

As Jian and Sehun simultaneously swallowed at the delicious smell, the owner, who had been watching them, casually struck up a conversation.

“By the way, why do you run a café?”

“Pardon?”

“Well, you know. If you’re an A-rank Hunter, you could make a fortune just by clearing one dungeon. So I wondered why you’re running a café.”

“Me?”

“Every customer who came to the shop today was talking about it. They were saying it must be some rich person’s hobby or something like that.”

“…”

Jian unexpectedly received information about the strange events of the day in this unlikely place. He wasn’t an A-rank Hunter but an S-rank, but the important thing was that rumors about him being a Hunter had spread.

‘When did they find out? Did someone see me entering and leaving the Clam dungeon at dawn? Even though I wore a scarf and sunglasses? And even if they did, the Clam dungeon is F-rank. How did rumors spread so quickly just because I solo cleared a Clam dungeon? And why A-rank?’

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Unlike S-rank Hunters who were almost like unicorns, A-rank Hunters were more accessible to both Hunters and ordinary people.

They were like popular celebrities. Moreover, because they dealt with high-ranking monsters that threatened human survival, some people even worshipped them as heroes.

Many lower-rank Hunters dreamed of raiding dungeons alongside an A-rank Hunter.

“Did I say something wrong?”

The owner lowered his voice, glancing at Jian’s stiffened expression.

High-ranking Hunters were objects of awe to ordinary people. They were beings who could slaughter terrifying monsters without batting an eye, so it was natural to feel some fear.

The owner’s face showed fear that he might have said something wrong and face retaliation.

“Ah, no. It’s just that the rumors aren’t true. Some misinformation must have spread somewhere. As you can see, I’m just an ordinary person.”

Jian relaxed his expression and waved his hands as he spoke. The owner nodded at Jian’s benign smile, which made him look incapable of killing even a single bug, let alone monsters.

Feeling the atmosphere lighten, the owner apologized with a mild expression.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have meddled. Wait a moment. I’ll bring you some extra fries on the house.”

“You don’t have to…”

“It’ll make me feel better.”

Before Jian could protest further, the owner disappeared into the back.

‘This is driving me crazy. Who on earth spread these strange rumors?’

The impact was enormous even with rumors of being an A-rank Hunter. Jian felt dizzy thinking about what might happen if someone found out he was actually an S-rank Hunter.

As he was groaning and clutching his hair, Sehun grabbed Jian’s arm with both hands, looking worried.

“Big brother…”

“Ah, Sehun. I’m sorry. Let’s eat quickly.”

The food was getting cold. Jian quickly came to his senses and cut Sehun’s hamburger into manageable pieces.

“It might be hot, so blow on it before eating. Okay?”

“…Okay.”

It seemed like Sehun had more to say, but he started nibbling on the hamburger pieces without any fuss.

‘Let’s eat first and think later. A full stomach helps clear the mind.’

Jian took a big bite of his hamburger, which was as large as his face. The sweet and sour sauce, crisp lettuce, and juicy meat patty helped ease his worries somewhat.

After finishing everything, including the complimentary fries from the owner, both Jian and Sehun looked satisfied.

As they were returning to the café holding hands, Jian saw a group of Hunters clustered in front of the closed café door.

Jian bit his lip hard. It felt like if he left this situation unchecked, things would spiral out of control.

“Hello.”

After sending Sehun into the café first, Jian approached the Hunters who had already moved away a bit and greeted them.

They had been glancing at Jian too, so they looked flustered but also excited.

“Ah, hello.”

The man who seemed to be the leader of the group returned the greeting with an awkward expression, touching his pierced earlobe.

Seeing the admiration in the man’s eyes, Jian inwardly sighed but maintained a friendly smile on his face.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Us?”

“Yes.”

From what the burger shop owner had said, and the Hunters frantically visiting the café, something was clearly going on.

Whoever had spread rumors about him, it probably didn’t happen offline. Thinking that finding the cause of this situation would help him find a solution, Jian gathered his courage.

“I’m curious if you’ve heard any rumors about me, and where you heard them from. I don’t know if you’re aware, but there’s been a sudden increase in Hunter customers visiting the café today.”

At Jian’s question, the Hunters exchanged meaningful glances with each other. There was definitely something Jian didn’t know.

“Well… actually…”

The Hunter who had greeted Jian earlier began to speak hesitantly. As his story unfolded, Jian began to realize who was responsible for this situation.

‘Not content with causing trouble offline, they had to do it online too…’

Maybe he should have broken that troublemaker’s wrist completely back then. Learning that all this chaos was caused by a single post from that problematic customer made Jian’s head throb. Prioritizing damage control, Jian opened his lips and smoothly delivered a freshly concocted story.