"You're two years older than me."
"Really? Wait, no. More importantly, I never told you my age. How do you know that?"
"These days, you can find pretty much anything on the internet. Ugh, anyway, I don't think I can eat at places where you grill the meat yourself anymore. All that smoke going straight into my lungs..."
Giryeo left the flustered Haseong to process that revelation and turned his attention to the unfamiliar delicacy in front of him—the pork skin.
But at that moment, a massive wave of magical power suddenly swept ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) through the restaurant.
It was dark and heavy, strong enough to register as an unmistakable sense of discomfort.
In Korea, there was only one person who gave off this particular kind of mana.
"Is that coming from outside?"
Giryeo sensed the presence and instinctively turned toward the window.
Beyond the glass, he spotted the white wings of a flight-type magic tool known as the [White Bird].
Whoong.
A moment later, someone descended lightly from its back.
Judging by those drooping eyes, it was unmistakably the very Hunter who had just crossed his mind.
"Esther-ssi?"
Since he was nearly full anyway, Giryeo told Haseong to keep eating and stepped outside for a moment.
The woman waiting there carried a distinctly different air from usual.
Normally, she wore a relaxed smile.
Now there was no trace of one.
Instead, her brow was drawn tight.
"A-ah... So that story really was true after all..."
Tremble.
Esther muttered under her breath and clenched one fist.
The mana surrounding her gradually sharpened into something fierce and menacing.
To make a curse caster this angry...
Giryeo had no idea who had offended her, but whoever it was probably wouldn't be sleeping peacefully anytime soon.
"Hunter Kim Giryeo?"
"Yeah?"
Then Esther suddenly called his name in a raised voice.
"I'm terribly sorry for barging in while you're eating. But there's something I need you to explain to me right now."
"Yes?"
Her sharp, bloodshot eyes narrowed as she slowly approached him.
"I heard a rumor today, you see. That you and the guild leader of Garion are planning to form an official team?"
"Ah."
"And surely it isn't true that you began discussing team arrangements without me, is it?"
Of course it wasn't true.
Giryeo intended to break that promise anyway.
The only problem was whether his head would remain attached to his shoulders long enough for him to explain that.
"CEO, please calm down."
Sssk.
Giryeo immediately adopted the Earthling gesture of surrender.
He raised both hands, palms clearly visible.
***
A little later, I finished paying for the meal and stepped into the alley beside the restaurant.
After putting a little distance between myself and Jung Haseong, I spoke.
"Hunter Esther, could I have your ear for a moment?"
She still looked visibly displeased, but she agreed to hear me out.
Esther assumed a faintly indifferent expression, as if to say, Go on, explain yourself.
But as my explanation continued, that expression gradually changed into surprise.
"First of all, don't worry. I don't know where you heard that rumor, but I have no intention of working with that S-rank over there anytime soon."
"Really?"
"Yes. I only suggested teaming up with Jung Haseong under certain conditions."
"Conditions?"
"Esther-ssi, a few years ago, you got caught up in Jung Haseong's abilities while dealing with a dungeon break, didn't you?"
I brought up an incident I had found while browsing the internet.
Apparently, even the guild leader of the Magic Tower had once suffered from the unique problems that came with S-rank Hunters.
Just as people sometimes crushed insects underfoot without even realizing it, the strongest awakened individuals of this world frequently caused collateral damage simply because of how much power they possessed.
So I explained the meaning behind my arrangement with Jung Haseong in relation to those very problems.
"This is a secret, but I'm currently teaching Jung Haseong a way to control his abilities so that something like what happened to you won't happen again."
"...?"
"And once I confirm that the method works, I was planning to contact the Magic Tower immediately."
Esther's eyes widened as she looked up at me.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. In any case, I never intended to slight you."
"I-I see."
The moment the subject of the guild came up, Esther rose onto her toes and whispered into my ear.
"Then... that means you're not affiliated with Garion right now after all?"
I'm not sure how she ended up suspecting that, but there was one thing I could answer with certainty.
"As I told you before, I don't join guilds."
I made it perfectly clear that I had never joined Haseong's guild.
At that, Esther's face visibly brightened.
"Oh my!"
Apparently, that had been the main reason for her anger.
I suppose from the perspective of someone who ran a major guild, losing a valuable Hunter to a small organization like Garion might feel rather humiliating.
"Goodness, I'm so sorry. What should I do? I jumped to conclusions far too quickly..."
Esther smiled and straightened her posture.
"That was dangerous. We nearly ended up with some unnecessary bloodshed."
Why did she say that the moment her voice returned to a normal volume?
"At first, I honestly thought I was being completely excluded. Haha. So, to tell you the truth, I was considering demonstrating my abilities here today."
"..."
"If I could prove that I'm an Awakener who isn't inferior to the number-one Hunter in the rankings, I thought Giryeo-ssi might let me join the team too~"
Esther spoke in her usual gentle tone.
Unfortunately, she was also an expert in curse magic.
"Of course, we might have ended up with slightly fewer S-ranks in the process of making my case... but really, four of them is rather excessive for such a small country. Losing one wouldn't be the end of the world."
The only curse magician in Korea smiled sweetly while looking between the two men.
I'm terrified.
What Esther was essentially saying was that if she were excluded from the official team, she would create an opening herself—even if that meant eliminating one of the existing S-ranks.
"Mom."
I swallowed dryly and began edging away from Esther as naturally as I could.
I needed to get out of here before anything unnecessary happened.
"A-anyway. Esther-ssi, where exactly did you hear that we were teaming up?"
Before leaving, I casually asked the question I was most curious about.
I had not expected an answer like this.
"The gray-haired man behind you told one of our guild employees. I happened to hear it from them."
Well.
I suppose I never explicitly told Jung Haseong to keep that part a secret.
***
After the blond Awakened disappeared from sight, only two S-ranks remained in the alley.
The sleepy-eyed Master of the Magic Tower and the pyromancer.
"Come to think of it, it's been a while since we've seen each other like this, hasn't it?"
Esther watched Giryeo's retreating back and spoke casually.
In the past, Jung Haseong might have answered with nothing more than a curt acknowledgment.
But now that he was no longer constantly pressed for time, he replied properly.
"Yes. How have you been?"
The answer he received was unexpected.
"Of course I haven't been well."
Esther, only pretending to be angry, gave a small snort.
"After rejecting my heartfelt invitation, our dear Haseong doesn't even spare Garion a glance anymore. I've been so upset I can barely eat."
"Hmm."
"And what's this I hear? Apparently the proud guild leader has been following a certain Hunter around lately."
A mischievous smile appeared on her face.
"So? How does it feel to have Hunter Kim Giryeo reject your scouting attempt? Do you understand how I felt now?"
The usually expressionless man merely looked troubled.
But Esther's mood remained perfectly cheerful even without an answer.
There had once been a time when she mistakenly interpreted the young man's behavior as arrogance—the number-one ranked Hunter looking down on everyone around him.
Now that she had gained a rough understanding of Jung Haseong's personality, however, she no longer held any resentment toward the chronically overworked hero.
Her teasing was nothing more than light conversation between colleagues in the same industry.
"Well, anyway. It was nice seeing you."
"Yes."
"Ah, I'm jealous. I wanted to be the first person to get advice from Giryeo. Though I suppose I've been too busy running the guild to make time for it..."
The guild leader of the Korean Magic Tower continued speaking brightly, then suddenly paused.
"Oh, right."
Her eyes widened as though she had just remembered something.
"Hunter Haseong, now that I think about it, what happened with that?"
"What are you referring to?"
"Since we're also one of the leading members of the magical power development consortium, information from all sorts of places tends to reach us."
"Yes."
"I think I heard about it last week. Didn't Garion decide to merge with Hanshin?"
At the mention of that name, understanding immediately appeared in Haseong's eyes.
"Ah. Hanshin."
His next words, however, were flat.
"That plan was canceled after some unexpected changes came up during the review process."
What Esther had referred to had already been reduced to a blank sheet of paper.
***
A sunny afternoon.
Boom!
Someone slammed a hand down hard on a mahogany desk.
This was the office of a small-to-mid-sized guild located in Gwanak-gu, Seoul.
[Together, Hanshin]
More precisely, it was the headquarters of Hanshin, the guild that had once been embroiled in controversy because of the Flower Baron's mismanagement.
And yet, just how lenient were this country's laws toward corporations?
For the dungeon break incident, Hanshin had received nothing more than a fine worth a few hundred.
As time passed, public outrage faded.
Now the guild had returned to operating without much difficulty.
"Ugh!"
But Hanshin's guild leader had been red-faced with rage since early that morning.
"Dammit! We almost had it!"
Last January.
Do you know what kind of treasure humanity gained from the catastrophic incident in which an entirely new type of monster suddenly began appearing in great numbers?
His gaze dropped toward the crimson armor laid out across the table.
[Efreet's Armor]
[Efreet's Gauntlets]
[Efreet's Greaves]
The equipment known collectively as the 'Efreet Set' offered fire resistance on a completely different level from anything that had existed before, provided all five pieces were equipped.
After witnessing its effects firsthand, Hanshin's guild leader had a thought.
If they equipped the strongest Hunter in the guild with the complete Efreet Set, surely that person could endure even the flames of an S-rank Hunter.
"Uggh."
That's right.
At the center of this entire affair stood Jung Haseong.
Hanshin had spent an enormous sum acquiring every piece of Efreet equipment that appeared on the market.
Then, using the flame-resistant Hunter they had created as bait, they attempted to recruit Jung Haseong.
On paper, the plan made sense.
In fact, Jung Haseong's response had been favorable.
That S-rank had spent a long time searching for a Korean companion capable of enduring his abilities, and with the appearance of the Efreet Set, Hanshin had finally satisfied that requirement.
Hanshin had never possessed any realistic chance of recruiting the nation's number-one Hunter before.
If they had succeeded, however, their standing would have changed overnight.
Yes.
With a single successful recruitment, they could have transcended their status as a minor guild and grown into a company recognized around the world...!
"Kaaaght!"
But to reveal the conclusion first—
Hanshin failed.
Their plan only worked as long as Jung Haseong remained interested in finding a companion resistant to fire.
Then, out of nowhere, an unexpected variable ruined everything.
"Kim Giryeo, you damn b*stard!"
The guild leader of Hanshin ground out the name of a certain Hunter.
"Why the hell is he interfering now when he was the one who said he'd never team up with Jung Haseong!"
They had spent a fortune on the Efreet Set.
Not only had Hanshin paid above market price, they had even added extra bonuses to secure exclusive access to every piece that became available.
The guild itself might not have been particularly large, but Hanshin had been spun off from a famous corporate group.
Money had never been the problem.
And now, because of a single person's interference, all of that effort had gone to waste.
"A while ago, Hunter Kim suggested that we consider working together as a regular team in the future. So unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to continue discussing the contract you proposed..."
Before the formal negotiations had even begun, Jung Haseong had already been tempted away by someone else.
"My money!"
If he had known this would happen, he would have been far more cautious about buying all that equipment.
Hanshin's greed had convinced them that by recruiting Jung Haseong, they would eventually be able to absorb not only him but also the personnel of Garion, the guild he had founded.
They had been impatient.
And unlucky.
With nothing guaranteed, they had invested far too much and ended up taking a loss.
"Oh, for God's sake... I've already bragged to everyone that we were going to merge with Garion. Now look at this. What the hell happened?"
"Come to think of it, did you try contacting Hunter Kim Giryeo?"
"Ugh. Don't even mention him. I swear, after one phone call with that guy, I'm going to need blood pressure medication."
What made the situation even more infuriating was that Hanshin had not given up after the failed recruitment attempt.
Instead, they opened a second round of negotiations.
They explained the circumstances to Hunter Kim Giryeo and practically begged him to allow one Hanshin guild member to temporarily join the team if a new party was formed.
"And the worst part is, we weren't even asking him for money. We were offering to work entirely on his terms."
As long as Hanshin could earn a reputation for possessing a Hunter capable of surviving Jung Haseong's flames, their original objective would still be achieved.
But do you know what answer they received?
"No matter how much equipment you put on them, an A-rank is still an A-rank. I'm sorry, but that won't work."
Giryeo had not merely crushed someone else's dream outright.
He had rejected Hanshin's proposal on the grounds that their Hunter simply wasn't qualified.
"In the end, they're only S-ranks because they got lucky at birth!"
In reality, Kim Giryeo had never intended to form a Hunter team at all.
He had simply declined Hanshin's request as politely as he could.
But from Hanshin's perspective, this had become a matter of pride.
And there was no one they could even complain to.
After all, no one would find it strange for an S-rank to look down on lower-ranked Awakened.
"Guild Leader."
At that moment, however, one person in the room viewed the situation differently.
"I have an idea. Would you like to hear it?"
"What?"
"Frankly, it's not like we decided to pursue an S-rank for no reason. We already prepared everything. So why should we just sit here and accept this kind of disrespect?"
Cho Sangoh.
The star Hunter of Hanshin Guild.
He confidently believed that his abilities were in no way inferior to those of an S-rank Hunter.
In recent years, the Hunter industry had developed at a breathtaking rate, advancing even faster than Moore's Law in the semiconductor industry.