Then, as expected of what always happens in these kinds of situations, a random streamer appeared.
And by random, it had to be one of the most disgustingly famous, obnoxiously influential, and emotionally tone-deaf ones on the planet.
She strutted into the scene in a casual, oversized powder-blue tracksuit, hood down, revealing a cascade of perfectly styled blonde curls that bounced with every step. Her blue eyes sparkled with a dangerous kind of energy—the monetizable kind—as her lips stretched into a grin so bright it could have burned through camera filters.
"Eeeeek! It's the Midnight Death herself! And uhh… random hunter?"
She squealed, crouching down with predatory precision beside them, phone already filming at full resolution and streaming to what was likely millions.
"You guys! You guys! You cannot BELIEVE this! S-Rank Raven has a hunter boyfriend?!"
She flipped the camera to face herself for a split second, striking a peace-sign pose beside the collapsed, still-entangled Hunters like they were mascots of a love-themed dungeon event.
In the live chat, chaos erupted like fireworks over a dumpster fire:
'SRankLover': Lucky bastard…
'MidnightFanClub': He should be executed for taking Raven away from us…
'MichaelTrent': What the hell is wrong with this live chat? LOL
Then, she spun the phone back to them, this time zooming in on Raven's face, then Aren's, then back again—as if trying to find proof of lip contact or steam lines rising from skin contact.
"So tell me, Miss Raven…" she said, her tone practically dripping with faux innocence. "What exactly is your relationship with this… random hunter?"
The phone hovered like a truth-seeking missile.
Raven, unfortunately, was the furthest thing from composed. She sat stiffly on Aren, frozen in time, eyes wide and trembling slightly, like a criminal caught on CCTV after midnight. Her entire internal system was firing red alerts. All escape routes—physical and political—were collapsing one by one.
'This is a nightmare.'
'Think, Raven, THINK!'
She couldn't say she joined him in the dungeon "just because"—she wasn't officially part of the Rising Gold Guild. That'd be unauthorized dungeon entry, which was a punishable offense.
'And I definitely can't admit I was trying to forcibly recruit a random hunter as my partner…'
Her lip trembled before she bit it hard, brows furrowing.
There was one option left.
One that violated her pride, her dignity, and her long-standing disdain for public speculation all in one fatal shot.
Aren, beneath her, watched the slow emotional car crash happen in real time. His instincts screamed—whatever she was about to say, it was going to ruin his week.
Then she looked up at the camera with dead determination.
"…Uhhh… y-you see… this is my boyfriend!" she blurted, words trembling but somehow holding their shape, punctuated with a shaky, almost robotic smile that didn't reach her eyes.
The air around them seemed to still.
And like divine timing, the legal clause she was banking on floated to the surface of Aren's memory:
In Hunter Society, guild-affiliated dungeon entries allow invitation of external hunters, provided the guest has a sufficiently close relationship with the permit-holder.
Which meant…
If Aren had the permit…
And Raven was now claiming to be his girlfriend…
Then this entire escapade was technically 100% legal under Hunter Association law.
Aren stared at the sky, a thousand-yard stare on his face.
"…She really did it," he muttered internally.
Then sighed. If she got in trouble, he would too. Letting another hunter sneak into a dungeon under his permit could get his license suspended.
So—he played along.
Slowly, he lifted his torso and wrapped one arm around Raven's waist in the most awkward, possibly traumatized embrace imaginable. His other hand waved slightly toward the camera like a hostage attempting to appear cooperative.
"Uhh, yeah… that's right," he said, eyes glazed. "We just got a little distracted inside the dungeon and didn't notice the timer on the portal closing so… this happened."
He finished the sentence with a tone so blank it could have been used for tutorial narration.
And then, like a vulture that smelled trending meat, the streamer leaned closer.
Her grin sharpened—eyes gleaming like twin cash registers ringing up clicks.
"Oh~?" she sang, voice sugary with danger. "What could possibly distract the Midnight Death from soloing an E-rank dungeon in under a minute?"
Her phone drifted closer again.
"I mean, I'm just wondering…"
Her tone slowed, each word like a hammer pounding nails into a coffin.
"Two people…"
"Of the opposite gender…"
"All alone…"
"In an isolated environment…"
The implication wasn't subtle.
The live chat imploded instantly.
'JohnDoe': HoneymoonArc?
'BastardOfGate': 'It's always the quiet hunters smh'
Both Aren and Raven twitched simultaneously. The same thought struck their minds like lightning wrapped in shame.
'Kill me.'