And so, I left the police station with the researcher and headed to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant.
"Now that we're outside, let me ask you just one thing."
"Yes?"
"I have a skill that can prove your innocence, but unfortunately, according to the laws here, using an Awakening ability on another person can get you handcuffed."
"Aah."
"But the law says not to use abilities on someone 'without their consent.' So if the subject agrees to it beforehand, wouldn't that make it legal?"
"Yes?"
"So, would you be willing to give me your consent now?"
Tsk.
After that, I turned on the recording function on my phone.
Not long afterward, the Earthling gave her consent, and I activated the magic.
However, in the process, I received an unexpected result.
"What?"
The researcher had been telling the truth.
Every single word of it.
Now things were getting complicated.
If this wasn't simply the malicious revenge of some deranged anti-fan, then who exactly had ordered the attack?
And for what purpose?
The first person who came to mind was Brooklyn Morgan, an S-rank Hunter from overseas.
I had never done anything to wrong her, yet she had unleashed her magic on me without hesitation simply because she suspected I might be a fake S-rank.
If anyone were capable of orchestrating something like this merely to test my strength, it would be her.
Besides, the messages in the chatroom had been written in English.
But if Brooklyn really was behind this...
Then the involvement of the researcher sitting in front of me didn't make sense.
"Hmm."
If the mysterious client had merely stolen her identity, that still wouldn't explain how they knew so much about her personal circumstances.
"Excuse me. I have a question."
"Yes."
"Did you ever tell anyone that I refused your security request that day?"
The researcher answered immediately.
Everyone on her project team knew.
After all, before they could decide whether to contact another Hunter, she had been required to formally report to the institution that they had failed to recruit Kim Giryeo.
"Hmm?"
But at that moment, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
"Come to think of it..."
Hunter Kim Giryeo is... moreover, I've heard that your actual personality is very good as well...
I recalled something the researcher had said before.
'Now that I think about it, didn't she come looking for me because someone had "recommended" me?'
Not the first-ranked Hunter.
Not even the second.
Someone had deliberately chosen the ominous-looking ninth-ranked Hunter as their escort.
If Ally's hired thug hadn't happened to use an ability I could counter, the situation could have ended far worse.
The aquarium attack was a serious crime, one that could easily have resulted in lasting injuries.
So if there was even the slightest suspicion, it was better not to ignore it.
It was better to confirm the truth.
"Doctor."
I addressed the Earthling sitting across from me before continuing.
"I think I need to meet your father."
***
What had happened by now to the foreign fixer they had hired?
'Since the contract specified a time period, they should have been forced to begin the job by now.'
In a quiet room, an elderly man with a solid build—perhaps the result of a lifetime of good nutrition—sat resting on a sofa.
He was Go Byeongdo, president of the Hunter Association.
"Hmm."
At [N O V E L I G H T] this point, there was no longer any reason to hide it.
In truth, Go Byeongdo had been behind everything from the very beginning.
He had expected Ally to fail from the start.
The plan had too many flaws for him to believe otherwise.
If the contract succeeded in injuring Kim Giryeo, that would be useful in its own way.
But his real plan was only meant to begin after the foreigners were arrested by the police.
"It's frustrating not being able to hear the results immediately."
Ally.
Researcher Kim.
And the researcher's father, Kim Beomshik.
At first glance, the three seemed completely unrelated.
But in reality, there was a hidden connection between them.
Go Byeongdo and Kim Beomshik were relatives.
Kim Giryeo will not intentionally harm Go Byeongdo or his family in the future.It had been an attempt to kill him indirectly by exploiting a loophole in the pact.
Contracts always came with risks of that sort.
Family.
To an alien, that word would normally refer to one's direct line—parents, children, and descendants.
But in a country like Korea, where a strong sense of kinship and community was deeply ingrained, the term often extended to close relatives as well.
A parent's siblings.
Their nieces and nephews.
People like that could still be considered family.
And so, Go Byeongdo had made use of one particular researcher.
"Hmm."
It had been Go Byeongdo who spread the false rumor to Kim Beomshik that Hunter Kim Giryeo would be a suitable choice for the escort assignment.
It had also been Go Byeongdo who concealed Kim Giryeo's contact information, ultimately forcing the researcher to approach him in person.
When everything was traced back to its origin, it had all begun with him.
The association president had also taken great care to conceal his identity when hiring the foreign mercenaries.
In other words, he had framed an innocent person as the client behind the crime.
And if, because of that deception, Kim Giryeo mistakenly concluded that the researcher was responsible and harmed her in a fit of rage...
"He'd be finished."
Kim Giryeo could die merely for laying a hand on a member of a family he didn't even know existed.
'No matter how arrogant he is, he still went through compulsory education. He probably wouldn't resort to violence that easily... but still...'
Of course, Go Byeongdo never expected everything to work out after only one attempt at impersonation.
Most likely, he would have to engineer similar incidents repeatedly until Kim Giryeo developed a sufficiently deep grudge against that doctor—
His so-called relative, whose name Go Byeongdo himself occasionally forgot.
"This bastard."
He ground his teeth as someone's face surfaced in his mind once again.
"His face rubbed me the wrong way from the very beginning! I knew something like this would happen."
That damned swindler had taken 3 billion won from him.
At this point, it wasn't even about the money anymore.
For the sake of his pride alone, Go Byeongdo was determined to punish him, even if he had to make use of some distant relative to do it.
His first impression.
His appearance.
His tone of voice.
Even the way he had dared to intimidate the head of an organization.
There had been countless things about Kim Giryeo that Go Byeongdo disliked from the very beginning.
And those long-standing resentments had gradually hardened into certainty.
He became convinced that someone so unpleasant could easily be capable of fraud—even fraud as outrageous as falsifying his rank.
Given the circumstances, Go Byeongdo believed his judgment to be perfectly reasonable.
"Ah, is it already five? I should call it a day. I have dinner plans."
He checked the clock on the wall and rose from his seat.
Then, accompanied by his bodyguards, he headed toward the association's parking lot to leave for the day.
Or rather, he was about to.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, someone appeared from the opposite end of the hallway.
Tak, tak, tak.
The young man walking toward them had a face familiar to virtually every Korean.
His neat appearance and purposeful stride stood out immediately.
A modern-day Hunter.
"Huh? Hunter Kim Giryeo?"
One of the secretaries recognized him first and greeted him.
The blond man responded with a light nod before stopping in front of the group.
"Hello, President Go Byeongdo."
Kim Giryeo greeted him in a calm voice.
"Ah, yes. It's been a while, Giryeo."
"Right."
"By the way, what brings you here? Do you have some business with the association today?"
...
He's perfectly fine.
Alive and standing right in front of him, eyes wide open.
Go Byeongdo felt a brief stab of disappointment at the sight of the completely unharmed Hunter.
Still, he wasn't particularly shaken.
He had anticipated the possibility.
But when Kim Giryeo spoke again, Go Byeongdo's attention immediately sharpened.
"Rather than having business with the association... I was wondering whether you, President, had something you wanted to say to me."
"Yes?"
"Just so we're clear, I met with Kim Beomshik a little while ago. I already know he's your relative."
The whites beneath Go Byeongdo's pupils became visible as he met the other man's cold gaze.
Yet he answered without hesitation, his expression practically saying, So what?
"Mm? My relative? And?"
The seemingly ordinary response was immediately met with a sharp retort.
"—What do you mean, 'and'? You bastard, after everything you've done, you're still pretending you don't know anything...?"
Giryeo suddenly exploded, swearing openly and dropping all pretense of politeness.
How dare he speak like that to someone more than twice his age?
And yet, if one examined the circumstances carefully, there was a reason for Giryeo's behavior.
Hadn't the older man already crossed the line where basic courtesy was concerned?
"Why would the president of the Hunter Association go this far just to get out of a promise?"
As those words suggested, the archmage had already uncovered the truth behind the incident.
Whether through inductive reasoning or some other method, deducing the hidden answer was hardly difficult for a soul whose original profession had been that of a scholar.
"Wait a moment, Hunter Kim Giryeo. What are you talking about?"
Furthermore, the archmage possessed a powerful weapon capable of verifying his suspicions.
"You suddenly show up here, accuse me of things, and then act as though I'm supposed to know what you're talking about. Frankly, it sounds like the rambling of someone banging a gong in their sleep. I don't understand a word of it."
"What did you say?"
"Yes, Kim Beomshik is my relative. That's true. But so what? Why are you getting so worked up over that?"
President Go Byeongdo explained himself in a calm, composed voice.
But the calmer he acted, the more the blood pressure of the S-rank Hunter standing before him seemed to rise.
'I thought it couldn't possibly be true, but it really was! This Earthling actually tried to use his own relatives to kill me...?'
After all, Giryeo had already taken the Blueshell before entering the building.
With the aid of the artificial enhancer he'd ingested, he could partially imitate the function of a magical tool like [Justitia].
'And he's not even changing his expression. He's just going to keep pretending he knows nothing...?'
Even so, the president of the Hunter Association slipped around every accusation like a cunning serpent.
Whether Giryeo brought up his relative or Ally, Go Byeongdo answered as though he knew absolutely nothing.
"You must have realized by now that I already know everything, so you're still going to keep acting like this?"
The old Earthling responded leisurely.
"Oh my. What on earth did you hear to make you torment an old man like me—"
After all, the association president no longer feared the S-rank Hunter standing in front of him.
"Anyway, I don't know anything. And even if everything you're imagining were true, what exactly would that change?"
"What?"
"Even if she weren't Kim Beomshik's daughter, think about it. I'm standing right here in front of you, aren't I? In the end, the situation is the same."
"..."
"Our Hunter Kim Giryeo can't do anything to me, can he?"
"..."
"Even if you're angry."
"Even if you've been wronged."
That was right.
Logically speaking, [The Knight's Oath] was an agreement no one could violate.
And the blond man standing before him had entered into a contract promising never to harm Go Byeongdo for the rest of his life.
So no matter how angry he became, what could he possibly do?
Thinking about it now, Go Byeongdo could only conclude that Kim Giryeo had been blinded by money and signed the contract without considering the consequences.
Three billion won.
That man had put himself in a hopelessly disadvantageous position for nothing more than that paltry sum.
"Well, I suppose you could ask someone like Kang Changho for help."
If that happened, Go Byeongdo could simply reveal the bastard's secret to the S-rank Hunter who came after him.
"Let's see whether anyone still wants anything to do with you once they learn you're a fraud."
But just as a sneer formed on Go Byeongdo's lips, the blond young man spoke.
"...President Go Byeongdo, why are you suddenly doing this to me?"
For now, Giryeo had established that the association president was behind the incident.
What he still didn't know was the reason.
Go Byeongdo's answer was simple.
"Why don't you use that clever head of yours and figure it out?"
"..."
"What kind of question is that coming from someone who said he didn't want to be ordered around by ignorant people like us, even when the dungeon break happened?"
The association president mocked Kim Giryeo as he turned to leave.
Judging from everything that had happened so far, Go Byeongdo believed Kim Giryeo was probably an A-rank Awakener whose strength happened to approach S-rank.
But because the two of them were bound by the Knight's Oath, he believed there was no danger in treating Giryeo with open contempt.
That confidence was precisely why he behaved as he did.
But there was one problem.
"Hmm."
The alien hadn't merely deceived the association president.
"Should I just kill that mammal after all...?"
[Knight's Oath].
In truth, the item had no effect whatsoever on a certain archmage.
Even so, Giryeo was still in a position where he couldn't openly attack the man with whom he had signed the contract.
The title of Hunter Association president was not merely ceremonial.
Go Byeongdo traveled with several bodyguards, two of whom were A-rank.
On top of that, he always carried magical tools designed for escape.
So what was Giryeo supposed to do now?
Was a weak, low-level Awakener who had spent all this time desperately trying to survive supposed to simply sit back and let himself be crushed by a scoundrel who had tried to kill him using his own relative?
"What made that Earthling suddenly become so aggressive?"
As the incident with the Rakshasa Temple had already demonstrated, Giryeo's personality was far removed from anything resembling tolerance.
Furthermore, if leaving an enemy alive carried a high probability of further harm, then the logical course of action was to eliminate that enemy as quickly as possible.
"Ha."
Left alone in the hallway, the young man rolled his eyes and thought for a moment.
Then, at last, he took out his cellphone.
"...Right. Well, being called a tattletale is the sort of thing people worry about when they're children."
He had tried not to resort to this forbidden method.
A moment later, the call connected.
And from the other end came someone's clear voice.