A quiet afternoon.
"Oh my, goodness."
In the meantime, a new and unfamiliar object had appeared in the representative's office.
The most noticeable change was the table between the two people sitting across from each other.
It wasn't made of glass or quartz. Instead, it gleamed with an almost artistic brilliance, as though the material itself contained some hidden power.
In fact, the piece of furniture had been carved from a magic stone.
Esther set her coffee cup down on the magical table and continued speaking.
"To be honest, I was surprised when you called me, Giryeo-ssi. You suddenly asked me for help. Did something troublesome happen?"
"A little."
"Anyway, go ahead and tell me! I'm always willing to grant any wish of yours, Giryeo. Honestly, I'm happy to finally have a chance to repay you for what happened last time."
Then, after a brief pause, a remark that seemed oddly out of place amid the antique atmosphere of the representative's office slipped out.
"You're happy? But what I'm asking you to do... involves dealing with someone, so it might be a little troublesome..."
The visitor made a rather shocking statement.
Yet Esther's reaction was completely flat.
Still smiling, she answered without hesitation.
"Who do I need to kill?"
The blond man silently stared at the floor.
After a long pause, he finally raised his head and corrected himself.
"Wait. When I said 'deal with someone,' I meant socially."
"Aha."
"Well, of course, Esther, you were probably joking. But you said it so naturally that for a second, it sounded completely serious..."
It hadn't been a joke.
Esther blinked her drooping eyes and swallowed the words before they could leave her mouth.
Meanwhile, Giryeo continued.
"Anyway, the truth is, something's been bothering me lately."
It didn't take long for the true nature of his request to emerge.
"President Go Byeongdo suddenly sent a hired Hunter after me. And it was clearly with the intention of seriously hurting me. What am I supposed to do in a situation like that?"
Indeed.
After much deliberation, Kim Giryeo had decided to report the entire matter to the curse sorcerer...!
But this time, Esther immediately objected.
"Wait a minute. Go Byeongdo?"
The matter Kim Giryeo wanted resolved badly enough to ask the Korean Magic Tower for help was connected to the current president of the Hunter Association?
When Esther voiced her confusion, the man sitting on the sofa explained.
"I was actually just about to tell you. Hunter Esther, do you know what happened to me last week because of the association president?"
Kim Giryeo quickly described the conflict between himself and Go Byeongdo.
He explained how Go Byeongdo had sent foreign agents after him, and how, when Giryeo went to confront him about it, the president had shamelessly pretended to know nothing.
Originally, an insignificant F-rank Hunter had little chance of standing up to the powerful figures of Earth.
Therefore, in situations like this, the only option available to the weak was to resort to pitiful appeals for help.
Of course, Giryeo didn't actually cry.
Instead, he described everything he'd suffered in painstaking detail, pouring as much emotion as possible into his explanation to his superior.
"My goodness! Go Byeongdo used Awakeners from overseas to hurt you?"
Esther was soon furious.
How could the Hunter Association—an organization that was supposed to protect the country's Awakeners above all else—commit something so unforgivable?
"Wait, though. Why did he involve that researcher's relative?"
"It's a little complicated..."
Giryeo continued, placing a hand against his forehead.
"Actually, I have a personal contract with the president of the Hunter Association. They were trying to exploit it to get me killed."
Soon, Kim Giryeo revealed the existence of the [Knight's Oath] he had made with the association president.
However, this wasn't something that would seriously damage his reputation.
Originally, his plan had been to intimidate Go Byeongdo, pocket the 3 billion won, and then escape by changing his identity.
But in the end, he had unintentionally fulfilled his side of the agreement anyway.
"I didn't want selfish people bothering me. And I'm a Hunter who does what needs to be done regardless of whether anyone orders me to, so there shouldn't be a problem, right? That's why, when my Awakening rank became public, I signed a contract with the association making it clear that I didn't want them interfering with my activities."
His improving command of the language...!
Without giving even the slightest thought to the safety of ordinary citizens, he boldly presented his argument.
He cited examples such as the Seiren and Kagoshima raids, explaining that he hadn't entered into the contract with malicious intentions.
"Haa, and besides... all I really did was promise not to harm the association president so the association would feel reassured. Is he suddenly acting like this because he's still bitter about the compensation I received for the personal information leak back then?"
At this point, lying came to him more naturally than breathing.
Fortunately, the strategy worked.
Esther accepted Giryeo's explanation and soon reached a conclusion.
"Exactly! How dare they repay a Hunter's goodwill like this! After everything you've done for Korea, Giryeo-ssi!"
Tsk.
Esther set down the coffee cup in her hand and continued.
"Anyway, I suppose things have finally reached their breaking point. The previous association president wasn't like this, but that man Go Byeongdo keeps showing completely unnecessary hostility toward Awakeners under him..."
"Yes?"
"And it was outrageous enough when he used journalists to turn public opinion against you, Giryeo-ssi."
"Well, about that..."
"Right after his inauguration, he even had the nerve to say 'those words' to me. I've been far too patient with him until now."
Three strikes, you're out.
Esther muttered the phrase to herself and fell silent for a moment.
The silence didn't last long.
Soon, she nodded as though she'd made up her mind.
"All right. Leave this to me."
"What are you planning to do?"
"You mean you're worried the Association President might try something outrageous again, don't you? I'll make sure he can't—with the Knight's Oath."
Naturally, if one wanted favorable terms in a contract, the first step was to weaken the other party's position.
The association president's ability to cause trouble ultimately came from his wealth.
Only after striking a blow against that dirty money would negotiations proceed smoothly.
Esther confidently declared that she would make sure President Go could no longer throw his weight around so freely.
At that, however, Giryeo briefly showed concern.
"Hunter Esther, you're not planning to handle this physically... are you?"
"Haha. Why? Would that be a problem?"
"Well, the position of Association President is what it is."
"Hmm."
"If we touch him carelessly, things are obviously going to get noisy. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about asking you to do this in the first place."
But the violet-haired woman maintained her relaxed expression.
"Hmm. This is definitely different from dealing with a criminal whose sentence has already been confirmed, so I suppose I'll have to be more selective with my methods this time."
Tsk.
She set down her now-empty coffee cup and smiled brightly.
"But it'll be fine. I didn't want to rely on him at my age, but if necessary, I can always ask my grandfather for help."
Grandfather?
The blond man paused, clearly puzzled by the sudden turn in the conversation.
Esther then explained.
"Oh my, you didn't know? Then do you remember what I told you when we were stranded together last time?"
"What?"
"I mentioned that my family was fairly wealthy, unfortunately. But actually, it wasn't just about money."
Giryeo swallowed a sip of coffee that had cooled enough to drink.
But the moment he heard what came next, he choked.
"Since we're already talking about it, my grandfather is a member of the National Assembly. And not just any ordinary assemblyman—his political career is on an entirely different level from someone like Go Byeongdo. So even if this turns into a full-scale fight, the Association President won't be able to bury me so easily."
At that moment, Giryeo realized something.
"Yes?"
She wasn't merely a powerful superhuman.
She had an overwhelming political foundation behind her as well.
It seemed he'd chosen exactly the right person to entrust this matter to.
***
How many days had passed since then?
Go Byeongdo, the second president of the Korean Hunter Association, had recently found himself plagued by a string of inexplicable misfortunes.
[They Keep Complaining About a Lack of Manpower... Yet the Executives Are Throwing Another Performance Bonus Party?]
[Exclusive] Evidence Reveals Korean Hunter Association's OO Branch Manipulated Magic Stone Grades During Purchases; Police Investigating Employees and Colluding Appraisers...
All of a sudden, article after article exposing scandals within the association began surfacing.
On top of that, Go Byeongdo had been suffering from relentless headaches all day long.
In any case, so many misfortunes had piled up that it was difficult to call them anything other than terrible luck.
Even after undergoing a full medical examination, however, the hospital could only tell him that there was nothing physically wrong with him.
So how would a man already suffering from such strange circumstances feel if someone suddenly came to visit him?
"Hello, Association President! It's been a while since we've met in person instead of speaking over the phone."
One day, Seo Esther, Guild Leader of the Korean Magic Tower, abruptly requested a meeting with Go Byeongdo at the association.
"Haha, of course. If an S-rank Hunter like you comes all this way, I naturally have to make time."
Of course, the Association President handled his guest with practiced ease.
As he'd just said, Esther was an S-rank Hunter.
Unlike ordinary Hunters, she wasn't someone he could afford to treat casually.
President Go Byeongdo gestured toward the seat opposite him, then settled heavily into the chair at the head of the room.
"Hmm. Time, you say."
But the moment Esther sat down on the sofa, her very first words were—
"That's not what I meant. Actually, I came here to ask you to step down from your position."
"W-what did you say?"
"How is it that you still seem to know nothing?"
With a languid expression, the woman continued, her face as calm as the surface of undisturbed water.
"The recent reports about the association? I'm the one who released them."
How could she openly admit, in her own words, that she'd been digging all the way down to his bones?
Yet Esther's tone remained perfectly steady.
The manipulation of magic stone appraisals at the OO branch.
Wasn't it obvious that this was one of the methods he'd been using as well?
Who would have imagined that association employees were colluding with headquarters appraisers, underpaying Hunters who didn't know any better and siphoning off the difference into slush funds?
"What? H-how does that Hunter know about this...?"
This was completely unexpected.
The association president's previously calm gaze faltered for the first time.
Still, considering the nature of the person sitting across from him, perhaps that reaction was inevitable.
Much like certain people she'd worked with in the past, Seo Esther was someone who, by nature, had never been afraid of earning another person's resentment.
"No, wait a minute, Hunter Esther. Why in the world would you investigate me? Huh?"
In truth, Esther had disliked that man ever since his inauguration ceremony three years earlier.
The previous association president—the very first leader of the institution—had been the one who established the entire current system, faithfully carrying out his responsibilities.
Then one day, while visiting a disaster site as the person in charge, that diligent and respectable man had been attacked by a monster lying in ambush and tragically lost his life.
Esther had genuinely mourned the senseless death of the previous president.
"I'm different from President Yoon, that rigid woman. I know how to be flexible. Let's get along well from now on. You understand what I mean, don't you, Guild Leader of the Korean Magic Tower?"
That was the reason Esther had come to despise the man sitting across from her.
After the tragic death of his predecessor left everyone reluctant to assume the position, Go Byeongdo had eagerly stepped forward in pursuit of power.
And during his very inauguration ceremony, he had brazenly proposed a corrupt arrangement.
As president of the association, he would conveniently support the Korean Magic Tower Guild in various matters.
In return, he expected Esther to treat him favorably.
However, despite being a curse user, Esther wasn't exactly lacking in social skills.
So she'd tolerated him without causing any major trouble.
'At least he was doing his job.'
Honestly, the amount Go Byeongdo had embezzled was almost laughably small.
Sure, occasionally sneaking off to play golf during work hours wasn't exactly admirable.
Still, as the head of the organization, he had managed to keep things reasonably balanced.
Even during incidents such as the Kagoshima Raid, while he ultimately failed to dispatch an S-rank Hunter, he had at least coordinated matters well enough to prevent diplomatic problems.
So even if that little rat had been nibbling at the granary, Esther hadn't bothered making an issue of it.
Until now.
"How can someone remain president of the Hunter Association after becoming a threat to the very Hunters the organization is supposed to protect?"
At Esther's remark, Go Byeongdo quickly understood what was happening.
Thinking back, the connection between the two had subtly revealed itself even during the Invincible Malice incident.
"Has that Kim Giryeo bastard been feeding you nonsense too?"
Kim Giryeo must have had some reason for believing the doctor was innocent and eventually seeking him out.
Perhaps, for example, his Awakening ability was particularly suited to interrogation.
But no matter what kind of mental-type ability he possessed, it was ultimately invisible power exercised by one individual.
"Listen, Miss Esther. I don't know what he told you, but this is all a misunderstanding. I'm so falsely accused here I could go insane."
The current president of the Hunter Association desperately tried to talk his way out of the situation.
Whatever ability Kim Giryeo possessed, if Esther refused to believe in it, that would be the end of the matter.
"I thought you might say that, so I just came back from filing a request to borrow [Justitia] from the UK. I even put up two Epic-grade items as collateral."
But who could have expected her to go that far?
"So from this point onward, I'd advise you to be very careful about what you claim."
"..."
"Oh my. Judging by that reaction, it seems Giryeo wasn't lying after all, was he? To be honest, I kept every possibility open until the moment I walked in here."
At that moment, Go Byeongdo hurriedly cut Esther off.
"Wait! At least hear me out first. Do you think I wanted to do something like that to one of our own precious citizens?"
"..."
"Listen. I don't know what Kim Giryeo has been whispering in your ear, but I had my reasons. Let me explain."
Go Byeongdo continued speaking without even noticing the brief chill that passed over the woman's face.
"This is a serious matter. I had no choice. I was only worried that that con artist might bring harm to this country."
"A con artist?"
"Don't be shocked. Just listen carefully. That man... isn't actually an S-rank!"
But why?
Go Byeongdo was certain he'd just played the ultimate trump card, something that should have completely overturned the other person's judgment.
"Kim Giryeo... isn't an S-rank!"
"Hahahaha!"
The instant she heard his explanation, the Guild Leader of the Korean Magic Tower threw her head back and burst into laughter, exposing even the underside of her jaw.