The Grill-Wielding Saintess of the Dead

Chapter 47: Organic Dungeon Alpine Farming 1

There were many titles used to refer to Yeonseo.

The living legend.

The first and strongest S-rank Hunter.

The one who opened the modern Hunter era.

Above the nation’s leader, there’s Yeonseo.

Even among S-rank Hunters, Yeonseo was in a different league.

The quantity and quality of her mana far surpassed that of most other S-rank Hunters, and even though she wasn’t a physical-type Hunter, her raw physical abilities were enough to crush an A-rank power-type Hunter.

In fact, despite having fought on the frontlines of the dungeon and Hunter world for nearly 60 years since the first Great Rift, she hadn’t aged or grown frail.

If an uninformed person saw her, they would think she was a beautiful woman in her twenties.

Of course, the unique atmosphere she carried made it impossible to hide her true age, but while most Hunters aged slower than the average person, Yeonseo’s aging had nearly halted completely.

To be honest, it was hard to have a standard to compare her to, but she even had the nickname of being the world’s only SS-rank Hunter.

Her power was so immense that even after her retirement in 2088, she was still invited by many countries and Hunter academies to encourage and train young talents, keeping her extremely busy.

She had made it clear that she wouldn’t return to the frontlines unless a new Dungeon Overbreak or Great Rift occurred, but still, people sought her out from not just Korea, but the United States, Europe, and other countries.

The reason she had retired was to somehow make more time to spend with her only blood relative, her granddaughter Yeonhwa.

When Yeonseo had been active, she had been saving the world.

Rescuing people from dungeons.

Dealing with crises everywhere.

She hadn’t been able to pay much attention to her family.

That was the reason she retired, but even after retirement, Yeonseo didn’t have much free time.

Even when she did somehow manage to make time and wanted to spend it with her lovely Yeonhwa…

“I’m busy, Grandma.”

Hee-ing…

Yeonhwa’s voice was cold, sharp as frost, much like her ice ability.

Yeonhwa didn’t dislike Yeonseo.

There was just a bit of distance between them.

Yeonhwa had been so cold by nature that at the Academy, she had unintentionally earned the nickname “Specter”.

It was surprising that Yeonhwa even approached Shia without hesitation.

Yeonseo, who had been rejected from spending time with her granddaughter, was inwardly disheartened, but she maintained a calm face without showing her feelings.

“…Is that so?”

“I have to deal with the remnants of the Goblin Guerilla Squad.”

“Hmm, well, once you’ve been officially awarded your Hunter name, it’s basically the same as heading to the frontlines, so there’s nothing that can be done. They’re always short on manpower.”

Yeonseo understood.

After losing her sister, Yeonhwa had yearned for power and had wanted to grow stronger.

Even if Yeonseo offered to go with her or help her, Yeonhwa would definitely refuse.

It was obvious what would happen if Yeonseo joined the Goblin Guerilla Squad, which was already filled with A-rank fledglings.

At least, thanks to Shia, the Returnee Saintess of the Dead, with whom Yeonhwa had interacted a few times, her once hostile gaze had softened, but still, the cold response from her granddaughter left Yeonseo feeling somewhat hurt.

‘No, no, this old woman has no right to feel sad. It’s my fault for not being able to take care of Yeonhwa properly when she was young…’

“Grandma.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s have a meal together when I get back.”

“…I will be waiting.”

Indeed, the once frigid personality had grown a bit warmer.

Though she had been a child who reminded others of winter, she now had the warmth of early spring, just after the start of the new year.

Though both of them were still awkward with each other, it couldn’t be helped.

And so, Yeonhwa left to join the squad hunting the remnants of the Goblin Guerilla Squad, and Yeonseo suddenly found herself with free time.

“The Hakenzburg Academy founding ceremony in Germany is in a week, and aside from that visit and your speech, you have no scheduled events for the next two weeks.”

“Ho, is that so?”

“Yes, unless another Dungeon Overbreak occurs, you should have some time off for a while.”

Hearing this from her personal assistant, who managed her schedule, Yeonseo smiled.

It wasn’t often that she suddenly had this much free time.

“Hoho, it seems like I have a sudden vacation. Child, you should also head back to your hometown for a while.”

“…May I really do that?”

“Why not? It’s not like this old woman is going to lose her smartwatch or anything. If something urgent comes up, you can always contact me. Tell Yeonju to give you some money for travel expenses, food, and a gift for your parents. You may go.”

“Ah… thank you!”

The assistant’s face brightened, clearly thrilled about the rare break.

After all, she had crossed the international date line countless times in just a week following Yeonseo around.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t tired.

Leaving her excited assistant behind, Yeonseo used her ability.

Yeonseo’s ability was spatial manipulation.

For a simple F- to C-rank ability user, it might allow them to carry a large amount of items in an invisible inventory, like in a game. But at Yeonseo’s level, she could teleport, initiate surprise teleportation attacks, or even compress and stretch space to unleash devastating physical forces.

When she first encountered Shia, she had attacked her by compressing a space the size of a soccer field, though thankfully, no one got hurt in the end.

Anyway, with her unexpected free time, Yeonseo teleported to a dungeon she knew well.

Normally, she would have just taken a car, but this place couldn’t be seen by anyone.

Even if it were unlikely, if stalker fans followed Yeonseo here, it would be a disaster.

“..It’s been a while.”

The place where Yeonseo arrived resembled a high plateau.

Below, there was nothing but desert sand, but the plateau where Yeonseo stood was terraced, much like the high mountains of Gangwon Province, with fields and cultivated land scattered across the area. Various plants and crops grew in appropriate places.

In this fog-filled area, cabbages heavy with dew and moisture were growing in abundance.

“Yeona, how have you been?”

Sitting by a small gravestone in front of the house, Yeonseo used her spatial manipulation ability to summon a bottle of alcohol from somewhere.

“I don’t know if my Yeona liked alcohol or not. It would have been nice to have a drink with me, but this useless old woman couldn’t even do that properly for you.”

With a voice as gentle as if she were putting a child to bed, Yeonseo softly stroked the gravestone.

The quiet house, the cabbages, and the cool breeze tickled Yeonseo’s hair.

“I’m sorry I can’t visit often.”

Yeona, Yeonseo’s granddaughter and Yeonhwa’s older sister.

She had died protecting Yeonhwa during the second Great Rift.

“Every time I come here, I feel like I’ve lived my life all wrong…”

People called her the strongest Hunter, praised her as the best for decades… but well…

What kind of strongest Hunter can’t even protect her own granddaughter?

“Yeonhwa… your little sister has become an A-rank Hunter. She was recently awarded her official Hunter name. I don’t know if Yeonhwa will be happy about it, but I even made her a Hunter badge.”

Unable to do anything for Yeonhwa in the past, Yeonseo had only been able to watch her granddaughter die while she was busy saving others.

“It seems like Yeonhwa has made a friend. A very strong one. Her name is Shia. She’s a Returnee, and she might be on par with or even stronger than this old woman. Yeonhwa has found a good friend. Ever since Shia came into her life, my once icy granddaughter has been more patient with me… Today, she even promised to have a meal with me. In the past, she might not have even responded.”

Pouring the alcohol slowly over the gravestone, Yeonseo recalled Yeona’s face in her mind.

Like Yeonhwa, she had blue hair. Her facial features were similar, too… but her face was becoming harder to remember.

Forgetting the face of a loved one was truly a terrible thing.

“Well, I’ll be going now. I’ll try to visit more often.”

After emptying the rest of the alcohol over the gravestone, Yeonseo stood up and sat down in the front yard of the house behind her.

There, expensive-looking parasols and chairs were arranged, along with several spherical devices.

They were Hunter-assisting AI drones, the latest models Yeonseo had extorted from Director Lee at the Hunter Association, the same type of drones Shia had received.

“Well then, let’s do some streaming after a long time.”

She then turned on her broadcast.

○○○○○

Yeonseo, the strongest S-rank Hunter.

And surprisingly, she was one of the first people to start Hunter streaming.

It was said that Yeonseo’s contribution to improving the public image of Hunters was significant, and a large part of that came from her streams.

Hunters are humans too.

Hunters are fun too.

Hunters, while navigating dungeons with many twists and turns, had brought a sense of familiarity to people, starting with Yeonseo’s broadcasts.

Of course, given her stature and age, Yeonseo didn’t do flashy or sensational streams like modern Hunter streamers.

Maybe in her younger days, but Yeonseo had stopped doing such noisy broadcasts at some point, and after her retirement, she began a new type of stream.

[Country Grandma’s Retreat]

This was the title of Yeonseo’s stream on Switch.

-Hello.

-Long time no see, Grandma Yeonseo.

-Hello!

-Hey hey

-It’s been a while.

-Grandma, heuuung.

-Wow!

-How long has it been since your last stream?

Given her status as the strongest S-rank Hunter, Yeonseo had many fans, not just from Korea, but also from many foreign countries.

“It’s been a while, children. Have you all been well?”

-Yep.

-Hello, Grandma~

-Grandma, you’re so beautiful!

-For real.

-Where were you last time?

“Last time? Ah, are you talking about the Overbreak? There wasn’t much to it. Just some dungeons that mutated, and I helped some children who were trapped inside. Other than that, there were just many people looking for me, so I took quite a few flights.”

-But Grandma, with your ability, can’t you just go without a plane?

“That’s true, but this old woman has gotten old. Using my ability is like running a 100-meter sprint, if I were to compare it to something you’d understand. My ability also consumes energy, so if I can travel comfortably, I prefer to.”

Unlike the harsh netrunners and toxic streamers who milk their content to the extreme, Yeonseo’s stream was pure, peaceful.

Actually, it wasn’t just clean; her tone was somewhat awkward, and the atmosphere was consistently restrained.

It was so clean that one might wonder if the viewers in Yeonseo’s stream were the same people who often engaged in cursing, slandering, and toxic behavior in other Hunter streamers’ broadcasts.

Yeonseo’s stream didn’t have much in the way of special features.

Unlike other Hunter streams where the streamer would enter dungeons and showcase flashy action and combat, hunting monsters…

Just casual chit-chat.

Conversations.

Talks.

And the main content here is how to farm organic alpine crops in this desert-only dungeon.

Alpine farming.

If you’ve learned it at school, you’d know that it refers to farming done in high-altitude mountain regions.

Even in summer, the climate remains relatively cool with frequent rainfall and less sunlight, making it ideal for growing vegetables, potatoes, and flowers.

The basic climate involves frequent frosts, and even during the hottest times, the average temperature stays around 20°C.

There also has to be a significant temperature difference between day and night.

In Korea, alpine farming mainly takes place in the mountainous regions of Gangwon Province, with cabbages and potatoes being the most representative crops.

“Shall we get up and move a little after a long time? We need to check if the cabbages are growing well.”

– Yes, yes, yes, yes.

– What kind of fertilizer do you use?

– Come to think of it, nothing’s changed since you overturned the soil last time.

– For real, lol.

Like leading cute grandchildren, Yeonseo skillfully floated the drone cameras and made them follow her.

“By the way, aren’t you kids starting school soon? You must hate going back.”

– Yes, ughhh.

– I don’t want to go to school.

– Grandma, please destroy my school.

“Oh dear, that wouldn’t be good. Even if you destroy it, they’ll just give you online classes.”

– That’s logical…

– Wise words.

– Now that I think about it, true…

“Now, the cabbages… oh-ho, they’ve grown well.”

Yeonseo marveled at the sight of hundreds, no, thousands of cabbages flourishing in the field.

In this dungeon, there was no need to worry about pests like in the outside world.

Each dungeon was different, but in a place without bugs, there was no need for pesticides.

Naturally, this allowed for the cultivation of organic, pesticide-free vegetables.

Yeonseo squatted down and opened up one of the cabbages.

Not only was it dense and well-grown, but it seemed to have absorbed mana from the dungeon, emitting a faint sweet scent. It was a special product that couldn’t be found outside, unique to Yeonseo.

“Thankfully, it’s a good harvest this time. Last time, I didn’t overturn the soil properly, so there weren’t many sturdy cabbages, but this alpine crop is successful.”

Of course, alpine farming is a very tedious and strenuous task.

No, not just alpine farming.

All types of farming that require growing and cultivating crops are hard, complex, and tedious jobs that deserve respect.

But who is Yeonseo?

“Alright, let’s start by overturning the soil.”

Thoom!

– Wow.

– Every time I see Grandma Yeonseo’s abilities, my heart swells.

– Wow, wow.

– Her powers are amazing…

– The cabbages are flying in a perfect line in the air.

She is the strongest hunter who manipulates space.

With a light gesture from her, the many cabbages in the field shook off the dirt and floated into the air simultaneously.

“Hmm, this one’s rotten. It’s not good to retain too much water… If I had come a day earlier, it might have been fine…”

Inspecting each cabbage, Yeonseo snapped her fingers, and the good ones began piling up next to the house.

The alpine cabbages, infused with dungeon mana, were incomparable to ordinary cabbages.

Containing mana, they were naturally dense, superior in nutrition compared to regular cabbages, and in some cases, they even stimulated a person’s mana to trigger an awakening if they didn’t already have an ability.

Because of this, the Hunter Association often begged Yeonseo to share some of the cabbages and fruits she cultivated for research purposes.

Normally, she would share these cabbages with close friends, but sometimes, on a whim, she would hold viewer events, gifting these special crops to the children, like her grandkids, who loved her broadcasts.

Of course, after an incident where the mana stimulated someone’s awakening, she refrained from giving them out to random viewers, but some of these cabbages went to herself and her family, while others were given to people Yeonseo cared about.

Looking at the cabbages piled up high like a tower, Yeonseo smiled.

“There’s quite a lot.”

With another snap of her fingers, Yeonseo overturned the soil where the cabbages had been. She churned and mixed the soil like an earthquake, and then, she began planting cabbage seeds in neat rows.

Of course, all Yeonseo did during this process was sit back in a chair and snap her fingers a few times.

– Farming cabbages… it’s so easy…?

– Farming completed with just a few finger snaps, lol.

– If real farmers saw this, they’d be furious.

“What is ‘furious’?”

– Nothing, nothing at all.

– It’s nothing.

– Shh.

– Quiet.

– Is this really Yeonseo?

– If you just joined, read the rules first.

– Newbie;

“Oh dear, this old woman is getting angry.”

– ‘Furious’ means when blood rushes backward in your body.

“If farmers saw me, they’d be envious. In fact, no one wouldn’t be envious of this old woman. Well, it wasn’t too harsh, so I’ll let it pass this time.”

– That’s true, lol.

– Grandma’s right.

– Her way of talking is so proper, lol.

– Is this chat always like this?

“Anyway, when you pick up a cabbage, it should feel heavy, the outer leaves should be green, and the inner leaves should be sweet and nutty when tasted. Also, when you open up a cabbage, there’s a small, yellowish center leaf, right? When I was young, we used to call it ‘gogaengi.'”

– Gogaengi, lol.

– How long ago was that?

– As expected of Grandma! You’re telling us stories we don’t understand!

– Man, the way she talks is annoying. Is this how this chat always is?

– Is this really Yeonseo? Is it really her?

“Oh dear, listen carefully. Later, when your parents are eating cabbage, you can impress them with this bit of knowledge.”

Yeonseo opened up a cabbage, picked off a few of the small inner leaves, and popped them into her mouth.

“Hahaha, the crisp texture is nice. Next time, I’ll just have to adjust the humidity or water a bit.”

– Stop ignoring us and answer.

– Is this really Yeonseo?

– Why do you keep ignoring us?

– Why are donations blocked here?

– I said if you’re new, read the broadcast rules first!

“Hmm? What’s going on?”

Only then did Yeonseo notice the hologram chat window projected by the drone camera. She tilted her head in confusion.

– Everyone, take cover!

– Run, run, run!

– Alarm, alarm!

– What alarm?

– What’s happening?

– Is this chat full of jerks or what? It sucks here.

“Oh-ho…”

The typical troublemakers.

It was rare for trolls to act up in Yeonseo’s streams.

However, on a platform like Switch, there were bound to be hundreds of millions of nasty net runners and trolls from around the world.

As her stream grew in popularity and ranked high, it was inevitable that a few troublemakers would trickle in.

Noticing that a few trolls were disrupting the otherwise peaceful atmosphere of the chat, Yeonseo’s eyes narrowed into crescent shapes.

“Some of you have very long usernames. ‘YeonseoBoobNipplePoke,’ ‘WhatColorIsToday’sPanties?’ Oh my, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen children like you.”

Their usernames alone were blatant attempts at trolling, designed to stir trouble.

Other viewers couldn’t hide their shock at the names, and soon, the chat fell silent except for the trolls.

It was clear they were visiting Yeonseo’s stream for the first time.

“Children, shall we do a viewer collaboration after a long time?”

– What nonsense is she talking about?

– This is a dungeon, what viewer collab, lol.

– Grandma’s lost it, hasn’t she?

Snap!

“Pfft, look at Grandma trembling in anger…”

– Hahahahahahahahaha.

– Hahahahahahahahahahaha.

– Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

– Hahahahahahahaha.

– Collab dropped, lolololol.

– I told you to read the broadcast rules.

– Hahahahahahaha.

In that moment, with a snap of her fingers, a disheveled man wearing a headset suddenly appeared in front of her.

He must have been at home, dressed comfortably, but when the scene around him abruptly changed, he froze, looking around in confusion.

And right in front of him was Yeonseo, smiling brightly.

“Now, here’s today’s viewer collaboration.”

“Wh-what…!?”

Before the man could react, Yeonseo grabbed him by the arm and stood him in front of the drone camera.

Yeonseo may have been a Hunter with a special ability, but her raw physical strength was enough to overpower an A-rank power-type Hunter.

It was impossible for an ordinary person to resist Yeonseo’s pure strength.

“Alright, troublesome child. What’s your username?”

“……Uh, uh….”

“Come on now, tell me your username. The viewers are waiting.”

The man, hunching his shoulders under Yeonseo’s bright smile, cautiously took off his headset and bowed his head.

“Kim, Jisuk…”

“Oh dear, not your real name. Your username.”

“………..Th-the username is…GrandmaMaNipple…so…so soft… I’m sorry, can we stop now, please?”

Kim Jisuk, a notorious troll and net runner, still hadn’t grasped the situation he was in.

He had been casually trolling and messing around in various streamers’ chats, killing time.

When he heard the living legend Yeonseo was streaming, he immediately jumped in with his fellow trolls to wreak havoc.

It was nothing unusual.

As always, they disrupted the chat, stirred up trouble, and their goal was to taint a clean stream.

How could even the legendary Yeonseo stop them from wreaking havoc in the chat?

That’s what he thought.

Until the moment he found himself suddenly teleported from his room to stand face-to-face with Yeonseo.

‘What the hell is going on, what the hell…’

“Finish your sentence.”

“…My, my username…is…GrandmaMaNipple…so soft…”

– Hahahahahahahahaha.

– Hahahahahahahahahaha.

– This is hilarious, hahahaha.

– Public execution, hahahahahaha.

– Lolololololol.

– Grandma’s stream is so fun. Please do more of this.

“Shall I?”

Snap, snap, snap!

“Wh-what…?”

“Huh?!”

“Huh…”

Suddenly, more people were summoned next to Kim Jisuk.

Their outfits were varied.

But all of them seemed to be at home in comfortable clothes, eyes wide with confusion at what had just happened.

Kim Jisuk knew who they were.

They were fellow net runners and trolls like him.

No, he knew Yeonseo’s spatial manipulation ability was incredible, but how could she so easily summon them while they were just typing in their rooms!?

“Now, who among you is ‘YeonseoNipplePoke’?”

“………….”

“……….”

“………That, that’s me. I’m ‘YeonseoNipplePoke.'”

“Is that so?”

With a wide smile, Yeonseo spread her arms toward the camera.

It was a gesture that could have seemed like that of a playful child, or like she was welcoming them to this place.

If not for the ominous and unsettling grin.

“Do you know what this old woman’s Hunter name is?”

– Silver Knight!

– Silver Knight!

– Silver Knight!

– Of course, we know!

Looking at the once again clean chat window, Yeonseo smiled broadly.

Yes, the chat should always be clean like this.

Everyone should respect each other. Speak kindly.

“Silver Knight is correct. Hahaha, but do you know which ‘Gwang’ (光) character is used in this old woman’s title of ‘Silver Knight’?”

“……..”

“……”

“…..Isn’t it the ‘light’ (光) character for ‘light’?”

“Hahaha, no, it’s the ‘madness’ (狂) character for ‘insanity.'”

The trolls in front of Yeonseo shuddered, unable to meet her gaze.

The meaning behind her words was clear.

Don’t expect to leave here easily.

“…Hiccup!”

“Ahh…”

“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

For the trolls suddenly dragged into reality, it was the most terrifying experience of their lives.

“For words, you should think before you speak them out loud.”

Hahaha, with Yeonseo’s deepened smile, the trolls felt as if the world was closing in on them.

“Once words are spilled, you can’t take them back, just like you can’t retrieve spilled water. Hahaha…”

“Hiii… eek…”