Two days passed like that.
Tiring.
I followed the sound coming from my pocket and pulled out my phone. An unfamiliar number was displayed on the screen.
Still, given the timing, it was probably a call from that person.
I answered without hesitation.
The moment the call connected, a voice came through the speaker.
– Is this... Hunter Kim Giryeo’s number?
It was the voice of a man who seemed to have aged dramatically in the span of just two days.
– Are you listening? This is Go Byeongdo. Go Byeongdo.
Sniff.
The sound of someone wiping away tears—or perhaps a runny nose—came through the speaker.
And the reason the Association president was calling me in such a miserable voice was...
– Y, you must have been surprised by the sudden call. But there’s something I absolutely need to tell you.
“Go ahead.”
– I’m really sorry. I... I must have lost my mind for a moment. This... this all happened because a guild called Spectrum in America pushed me into it...!
I couldn’t suppress a sneer at how thoroughly broken the man sounded.
That’s right.
Over the past 48 hours, Go Byeongdo had endured hardships beyond imagination.
The fact that the head of the Hunter Association had gone so far as to betray hunters was not something that could be buried through a few shallow media tricks.
This battle had already been decided the moment Esther unleashed her trump card through the media.
But Go Byeongdo, unaware that the scales had already tipped overwhelmingly against him, foolishly kicked a hornet’s nest with his desperate attempts to fight back.
[From ‘A Child in Crisis’ from an Orphanage -> Transformation into an S-Class Hunter]
To put it simply, my little secret had eventually been exposed to the entire world.
And because of that article, an S-class curse sorcerer flew into a rage and accelerated the execution of her plan.
The original plan had been to strip Go Byeongdo of his power and then, once public interest died down, gradually tighten the noose around him.
But Esther had reached the point where she could no longer tolerate the very fact that this Earthling was still breathing.
– What should I do? Huh? I’m sorry for daring to lay a hand on Hunter Kim Giryeo. If you want me to kneel... I’ll kneel!
The truth was that the president of the Hunter Association was currently suffering under the effects of a certain curse.
A curse so agonizing that it had forced him to bow his head before the very awakened individuals he despised.
I’d heard that curse-resistant equipment had recently sold out across the market, so apparently, he had anticipated something like this and made preparations of his own.
Even so...
“The opponent is an S-rank Hunter.”
Unlike other types of magic, curse rituals relied heavily on mental power as fuel.
And in doing so, the president of the Hunter Association had foolishly increased the intensity of the punishment he was about to suffer.
At this point, Esther no longer cared about public opinion or anything else.
If they wanted to report her, then fine.
But if that happened, she had made it clear that she would drag down not only the Association president but his entire family with him, mercilessly demonstrating just how ruthless she could be as she tore into him.
Moreover, as you know, curse magic has an absurdly long range.
Despite preparing as thoroughly as he could, the Association president had still been struck by the curse while lying in his own bedroom.
Having now experienced firsthand what an awakened being was capable of, he could no longer afford to act so recklessly.
‘If only he’d quietly stepped down as president and signed a pledge promising never to harm me again... this could all have ended peacefully.’
Anyway, I lowered the phone slightly from my ear, thought for a moment, and then spoke.
“So what you’re saying is that the Spectrum Guild told you I was a fake, you believed them, and that’s why you did all this?”
It was a kind of fact-checking.
Go Byeongdo immediately raised his voice, insisting that his only crime had been believing what the Americans told him and promising that nothing like this would ever happen again.
“Well. You hired those mercenaries with your own hands, and now you’re blaming America for everything...?”
– W, what did you say?
“Anyway, Esther will bring you a copy of the [Knight’s Oath] this afternoon. Be ready to sign it.”
– No, wait! I, I’ll apologize! You don’t have to go that far! I’ll prove my sincerity myself, so let’s negotiate normally. Okay? Hunter, what do you want?
I’m sorry! I’m sorry!
I completely ignored Go Byeongdo’s pitiful stream of apologies.
“What do I want, huh?”
After all, the people that man had picked a fight with were among the least forgiving beings in this world.
Alphaurians and curse sorcerers.
The answer of someone who had managed to offend both was obvious.
“Why ask such an obvious question? I want you to be punished. I’m hanging up now.”
– What? Wait...!
Tuk.
I ended the call and blocked the Association president’s number.
Then, over the next few days, the news I had been waiting for began flooding the television one story after another.
[Sorry for disappointing you... “Resignation from the position of president.”]
[Go Byeongdo bows his head]
[Sudden deterioration in health? Former president reportedly in critical condition. Public reaction remains cold, however, with many speculating that this may be an attempt to avoid an investigation into embezzlement...]
And so, the whole situation was resolved relatively easily through the debt Esther owed me from the past.
It was a story that began with favor and resentment and ended with favor and resentment.
***
And then, 17 hours later.
“Hmm?”
My phone, which had been quiet for a while, rang again.
This time, it was a text message.
‘I’ve done everything you asked. You can relax now! (_)v’
I carefully read the message Seo Esther had sent me.
First, under the pretense of lifting Go Byeongdo’s curse, she had gotten him to sign the [Knight’s Oath], ensuring that he would never again be able to oppose any Awakener.
Of course, just as I had requested, the moment the oath was complete, she placed another curse on him—one fundamentally different from the previous one.
His punishment was still ongoing.
The plan now was to torment him until his trial, force him to return the money he had embezzled, and leave him financially ruined while sparing his life.
Incidentally, until a new leader was appointed, the organization’s deputy head would serve as acting president.
Esther had apparently made sure to inform her grandfather as well, so whoever became the next Association president would probably be someone trustworthy rather than another lunatic.
“That’s tidy.”
At this point, she was probably more dependable than a genie in a lamp.
I continued scrolling through Esther’s updates, and just as I was nearing the end of the long message, another one arrived.
[Kim Giryeo-ssi, by the way...]
This was truly unimaginably good news.
[... I heard it appeared in Daejeon sometime yesterday afternoon. Are you planning to participate in the raid, Giryeo-ssi?]
[I’ve already had the guild members handle the bidding, but if you want, I’ll save you a spot once the auction is over.]
***
Tak, tak, tak.
A blond man in a suit strode briskly down the corridor.
Before long, he stopped in front of a set of iron bars that still looked ominously old-fashioned, unlike the electronic detention cells that had replaced most others.
“Hunter Kang Changho.”
The suspect inside the solitary confinement cell looked as though he had just finished meeting with his lawyer and was still speaking with an ordinary person.
When the S-rank Hunter noticed Kim Giryeo, he thanked the lawyers for their work and sent them away.
Then he turned to the visitor.
“Why are you here?”
“I have something to tell you, but you’re not answering your phone.”
“When you come in here, they take your belongings away. It’s called ‘confiscation,’ so those guys are holding onto my phone for me.”
Giryeo turned toward the prison guard Changho indicated with a smile, then straightened his posture.
He stated the purpose of his visit clearly.
“Anyway, there’s something urgent I need to tell you. Yesterday afternoon, a [Nest of the Grass] gate appeared in Daejeon.”
“It’s Dragon Dungeon.”
“The auction for the gate entry rights just ended, and an acquaintance of mine won.”
Kang Changho raised an eyebrow, silently prompting him to continue.
“So, to get straight to the point... I want to participate in this raid...”
He continued in a somewhat cautious tone.
“Sorry, but when will Hunter Kang Changho be able to get out of here?”
Naturally, the answer wasn’t particularly encouraging.
If getting out were easy, the man wouldn’t still be sitting there in handcuffs.
“I’m not sure, but it looks like I’ll be stuck here for the full 10 days.”
Even though it was his first offense, the incident had caused quite a stir.
Korea’s third S-rank Hunter already had a criminal record for the same category of offense, and with public opinion now involved, the situation had become rather complicated.
But if Kang Changho was right and he ended up serving the detention center’s full maximum period of 10 days...
“We’re running out of time.”
If his release didn’t line up with the Magic Tower raid team’s schedule, that could become a problem.
Dragons were exceptionally dangerous creatures, so the rule was to eliminate them well before a dungeon break became imminent.
“A dragon.”
A moment later, Kang Changho leaned back against the iron bars and seemed to mull something over.
Soon, he gave Giryeo his answer.
“It can’t be helped. Then go without me if you have to.”
“Yes?”
It was a necessary sacrifice for the sake of progressing to the Dragon’s Nest.
“Instead, make sure Jung Haseong is included in the raid team if possible.”
“Do you think the Korean Magic Tower will approve?”
“If that hunter volunteers to join without taking any payment, the guild won’t turn him down unless there’s some exceptional reason.”
Giryeo was briefly taken aback by how casually he said it.
To be honest, Kang Changho had been one of the first people to suspect him and look at him with distrust, even before the Spectrum Guild became involved.
He hadn’t expected the conversation to take this direction.
‘Didn’t he firmly believe that I was a fake S-rank?’
The blond man shifted his gaze without changing expression.
Soon, the tall hunter suffering from achromatopsia entered his field of vision.
With a frame that large, being confined inside such a cramped solitary cell had to be uncomfortable, yet he still carried himself with perfect composure.
Was it because he had experience with this sort of thing?
“Yes. Then I’ll take care of the dragon hunt.”
Giryeo crossed his arms and thought for a moment before voicing the question that had just occurred to him.
“By the way, I have a quick question before I go.”
“What?”
“Now that I think about it, Hunter Kang Changho has a criminal record for aggravated assault, right?”
“...”
“I don’t remember the details, but I think the victim was a chauffeur or something.”
From time to time, Kang Changho had displayed behavior that almost resembled a sense of justice.
For example, he had taken revenge on a reporter who mocked someone else’s suffering.
That made me wonder whether there had been some particular circumstances behind his previous conviction as well.
“Anyway, can I ask what happened back then?”
But the moment the subject of his criminal record came up, Kang Changho’s expression visibly changed.
The smile that usually revealed his distinctive dimple disappeared.
In its place was a cold, unreadable expression.
“I don’t really want to talk about that.”
Kang Changho fell silent for a long moment.
“Hmm.”
Fortunately, the alien standing here wasn’t rude enough to relentlessly pressure someone who had already said he didn’t want to talk.
“I understand. I’ll get going, then.”
“Yeah.”
Now that he had finished reporting the situation to his contractor, it was time to properly prepare for the dragon hunt.
Giryeo pulled out his phone as he left the detention center.
“
[Me: The classes on the 12th (Friday) and 13th (Saturday) will be replaced with field practice. Please prepare your equipment and potions and come to the front gate of the Korean Magic Tower by 9 AM on Thursday.]
[Jung Haseong: Yes!]
[Me: I said I will replace it.]
After sending the message, I slipped my phone back into my pocket.
Hi, from now on, I will update this novel 3 chapters/week. Thank you for all your support so far:)