Chapter 74 We Will Protect You!
This time was really dangerous.
Yoo Che-ran almost died.
‘Originally, at this point in the story, Yoo Che-ran didn’t even exist…’
Ever since Princess Kurumi, it seemed that the butterfly effect caused by my presence prevented me from receiving the benefits of being a possessor anymore.
I felt like I couldn’t keep up with the constantly changing story.
‘…Well, it’s inevitable.’
When I thought about it, they were all incidents directly related to ‘hunters’.
It seemed that being just a Hunter Meister had its limitations.
‘Should I become a hunter myself? …But how? I can’t openly transform into a monster, can I?’
Even if I was drafted into the military instead of becoming a hunter, the service period was only about a year and six months.
Moreover, being an ordinary soldier, not an officer, would surely impose restrictions on my movements.
…Well, I could use the ‘Daddy’s chance’, but still.
‘If I did that, it would be like announcing my movements to everyone…’
In the end, this was my current limit.
While I was thinking about it.
“What are you thinking so seriously about?”
“Sophia…”
“Sigh. You were probably thinking something like, ‘It’s all my fault that everyone is unhappy because of me,’ right?”
My cheek was pulled by Sophia as I was blankly eating at home.
When I turned to look, Sophia was staring at me with a grumpy expression.
“No, it’s just… If I were a little stronger, I could have saved a few more people, and not being able to do that keeps bothering me…”
“Ugh, what do you mean you couldn’t do it! You’re doing great already! How many people were saved because of the Jamsil monster!”
“That’s right, that’s right! Oppa is doing great!”
Even Ria, who had emerged from the shadows, was cheering me up.
However, I still couldn’t shake off this uneasy feeling completely.
‘If only I were in a key position in the Hunter Association… If I had been, I could have noticed Lee Hee-jeong’s abnormal signs or Princess Kurumi’s background much earlier.’
Being an ordinary person with just the knowledge of the original work wasn’t enough.
At first, I thought being a Hunter Meister would be sufficient, but I realized I needed at least a professional hunter’s position.
‘If I could get that, everything would unfold so smoothly…!’
The problem was I didn’t have the ability to achieve that.
“Ahem!”
It was at that moment.
“Come to think of it, it’s already been a week since the Hongdae Street incident, hasn’t it?”
“Huh? Oh, well, yeah…”
“So, Shin-woo and everyone else seem to be quite down.”
Seeing me still depressed, Sophia shifted her focus to the TV news we were watching.
The scene of Hongdae Street, which was currently being restored after the fire had long been extinguished.
Even though it was over, seeing that scene still made me clench my fists in frustration.
However, it seemed like I had too many emotions at the moment.
“Let’s go replenish our equipment.”
“Equipment?”
“Unnie, what do you mean by equipment?”
“I mean it literally. Equipment. With proper equipment, we can respond more flexibly to incidents like the Hongdae Street one.”
“Equipment…”
Equipment purchase.
Sophia suggested going out with me to get some ‘gear’ to enhance our abilities.
Certainly, equipment could compensate for my weaknesses as a human.
“Shall we? Then let’s head to the workshop right away…”
Thinking that, I was about to head to my usual workplace.
But!
“Stop! Not the workshop!”
“Huh?”
“Who uses outdated workshops these days! All they sell are mass-produced items!”
“Hey, mass-produced items…”
As a Hunter Meister, her words hit me where it hurt.
A fact bomb at this timing.
Well, as Sophia said, the Hunter Association’s workshop was like a basic shop in a game, selling only basic equipment.
So, she didn’t like it.
“We’re going to the ‘department store’!”
“Department store? Are you planning to buy equipment there?”
“Yes. Besides, I’ll buy some clothes for Ria too.”
“Department store, that sounds fun!”
To get special equipment in <Hunter’s Blood>, one had to visit specific shopping districts.
We were going to a large department store, at least on the level of ‘Hongdae Street’, which we currently couldn’t access.
“Isn’t buying equipment at a department store expensive…?”
“It’s fine! I have plenty of money!”
A B-class hunter from the USA with money to spare.
And a low-ranking Hunter Meister from the Korean Hunter Association who barely made ends meet.
“I’ll buy everything for you, Shin-woo! So just stick by my side like a gigolo!”
“No, even so, that’s a bit…”
Sophia seemed indifferent as long as she had my ‘body’ with her, but feeling guilty, I decided to make a ‘resolution’ today.
A resolution to burn through my wallet!
But at this point, we didn’t know yet.
That at the department store we went to for a break.
“Boss! How can you try to scam a foreigner like this!”
“Miss Riverin! Please calm down!”
We would have unexpected encounters.
And.
“…Have we met somewhere before?”
“Eh?! No, uh, what! No, I mean, uh, no!!”
“…??”
No one knew we would have even more unexpected encounters.
***
Recently, the Korean Hunter Association had been very busy in many ways.
Among them, the office of the branch manager on the top floor, known only to very famous people, was particularly busy.
Once again, it seemed that hearing about the destruction of the USFK base had attracted some pests.
A prominent figure from China had visited Korea, claiming to offer comfort.
“As an elder brother, I couldn’t just sit by and watch my younger brother struggle, so I came to visit.”
“Haha, that’s very kind of you.”
“Not at all. It’s all the magnanimity of a great nation.”
A woman in a white cheongsam was having tea with Lee Jin-ah.
Whether she liked the Korean sikhye, she licked it a few times with a cat’s tongue and stretched, seemingly very pleased.
She was none other than a national-level hunter from the People’s Republic of China.
“Ah~! As expected of Hangwo. The sikhye here is really delicious. Even if we try to make something similar in China, it can’t match the taste of the original!”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Born with animal ears on her head due to her hunter profession, Xiao Ling, who brushed her abundant orange hair aside, lowered her arms and started licking the sikhye again like a cat, seemingly in heaven.
“This is why I like Hangwo. Unlike the neighboring country that shall not be named, we have such a close relationship. Don’t you think so, Branch Manager of Korea?”
“Haha. Yes, of course.”
As a professional hunter, Lee Jin-ah maintained a steady expression, not losing her smile.
‘I should pack some sikhye for her to take on the way back.’
Meanwhile.
“Ah, that was delicious!”
When Xiao Ling finished all the sikhye, Lee Jin-ah began to feel tense.
It was only natural since a national-level hunter from China, ranked third in the world in hunter power, wouldn’t visit the Korean hunter branch just for tourism.
So.
“Ahem! Branch Manager, we are close, aren’t we?”
“…Pardon?”
“Ahem! I mean, not just between you and me, but between China and Korea.”
Xiao Ling started with a cough and then spoke in a friendly manner.
Lee Jin-ah didn’t know the reason for this yet, but she decided to go along to figure out her true intentions.
“Oh, yes… we are close.”
“Ahem! Of course! We’ve been together for almost 3,000 years. You wouldn’t find such a close relationship anywhere else in the world. It’s like the bond between Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”
“Yes…”
Seeing Lee Jin-ah respond so well, Xiao Ling became even more pleased.
Then, she coughed again and, trying to create a serious atmosphere, continued with a grave expression.
“To be honest, we are very worried about Korea! I heard that a major street was destroyed by a monster recently!”
“Ah, you must be talking about the Hongdae Street incident? It seems quite well known in China too.”
“Of course! Many Korean-Chinese compatriots were running businesses there. And the hunter equipment sold in Hongdae Street was all top-notch.”
“I see.”
Indeed, more than half of the foreigners visiting Hongdae Street were Chinese nationals.
Next were Japanese, Americans, and so on, ranked in a graph.
‘Are they here because they can’t import equipment?’
Of course, China’s hunter market was much larger than Korea’s, so someone unaware of the situation might wonder why China would want to import equipment from Korea.
A large country meant many scammers.
The credibility of equipment quality in mainland China was so poor that even the workshop in the hunter branch had repeatedly caught defective mass-produced equipment.
“Are you here for special equipment production?”
“Huh?!”
“I know that compared to mass-produced equipment, custom-made equipment in China is often of terrible quality.”
“Ah, no, that’s…”
“That’s why hunters above B-rank often place orders at workshops in Korea or Japan. I’ve heard that Hongdae Street is a mecca for Chinese professional hunters.”
So it was because of equipment.
Lee Jin-ah asked, convinced.
However, Xiao Ling continued.
“Well, that’s part of it… but can an older brother just keep asking his struggling younger brother to make equipment?”
“Then what is it…?”
“Ahem! I’ll get to the point without beating around the bush!”
Feeling that she would never get her point across if she hesitated, Xiao Ling finally got to the heart of the matter.
“Here!”
Xiao Ling placed a piece of paper in front of Lee Jin-ah across the desk.
It was a contract.
“I heard that Korea suffered significant damage not only to its homeland but also to the US forces stationed here because of the recent monster appearances!”
“Yes, that’s true…”
“So, our great brother nation, China, has come to help our struggling younger brother with 3,000 years of friendship!”
Seeing the contract Xiao Ling had taken out, Lee Jin-ah finally lost her composure in front of someone else for the first time.
“Historically speaking, even before the Americans were here, it was us, China, that protected the peace of this peninsula.”
“……”
“Ahem! So, what I want to say is, we want to legally station Chinese hunters in Korea. Like the ‘Chinese Garrison in Korea’!”
“……”
“We even have a political party in the Korean government supporting our opinion. We will only charge half the cost of the US forces, about 50 billion won. What do you think? Isn’t it a good deal?”
“……”
“It’s an opportunity to use Chinese hunters! And they all speak Korean well, so they won’t cause any problems!”
“……”