The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood - C.109:

Of course, preparations didn’t take long. Kim Kiryeo had already arrived on the first floor and was just waiting for approval from above.

***

In the quiet counseling room, two men sat facing each other on a long leather sofa. One was Go Byeongdo, who has been the president of the Hunter Association since last year. The other was a certain Hunter who also completed his awakening examination last year.

“Oh my, hello.”

However, there is something peculiar about this Awakener to be called a rookie. First, he is under extraordinary suspicion for slaying an S-Class monster with just a single sword. Moreover, his personality was remarkably calm to an extreme degree

“This is sooner than expected. Nice to see you again, Hunter Kim Kiryeo.”

At the president’s words, the young man sitting across from him glanced up. His figure, dressed in pitch-black clothing like an Imoogi, had an inexplicable sense of intimidation.

“…”

Tuk.

Immediately after that, two cups of coffee were placed on the table.

“I can’t drink coffee, so please change it to something else.”

Kim Kiryeo said a word while looking at the cups that were pushed in, but he didn’t receive a positive answer.

“I’m sorry. We only have coffee available right now. Shall I step out and get another drink…?”

“Hoho, why are you doing that? We’ll talk and get up soon anyway, so why don’t you just bring water?”

When the staff, who had prepared the coffee, conveyed this with a troubled expression, the president of the association quickly continued speaking. Kiryeo muttered quietly while looking at the president who asked for water without asking his own opinion.

“You’re being stingy with refreshments. If you’re like this already, you’ll regret it later.”

The conversation started with a strange sentence. Kim Kiryeo, who started the conversation, asked the other person a simple question.

“I’ll ask you something first.”

“Hmm?”

“What specifically does the association want from me?”

The president of the association was secretly excited when he heard that. Up until then, he had thought that the guy would finally give in and listen to the association.

“Oh, we don’t want anything else! You just have to follow the procedure.”

“….”

“So, just tell me that you’re an S-class like I said last time.”

When the president of the association spoke in an excited tone, Kiryeo continued the conversation calmly.

“Is that beneficial to the association?”

“Yes?”

“If I say I’m S-class, is there anything good that comes from this?”

“Well, if you really want to be specific, it’s more like honor than benefit, right? Look at international news. These days, OECD countries are lining up their S-class hunters.”

But the statement that came out right after that was shocking.

“Oh, honor. So you’re saying you did all that because of that?”

Kim Kiryeo listened to the association president’s words quietly, but then his attitude suddenly changed.

“W, what did you say?”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You were always leaking my personal information.”

He tilted his head and continued.

“Are you pretending not to know? You’ve been leaking my personal information everywhere.”

“Moreover, you had your friendly reporters make a fuss with their coverage, and then used the name to plaster the media with coverage?”

“….”

“It must have been a pretty effective method for a while. Even if they’re high-level Awakeners or something, Hunters are all young kids in their 20s or 30s.”

“What are you…”

“Lacking social experience and support base, but familiar with the internet—there’s no way to avoid pressure from the media, is there?”

His next words were full of confidence.

“But it’s quite bold to do this even to an S-Class candidate. Doesn’t the association consider the possibility that an S-Class might go astray?”

The Awakener asked, rolling his sambaegan eyes.

“…Did Jung Haseong go through something like this as well?”

The words that Kiryeo was spitting out were unexpectedly close to the truth.

“You made that easy going guy listen to you by gently pushing him, so you’re going to use the same method this time?”

However, it wasn’t something he could just keep his mouth shut. The association president hesitated and said a word.

“D, don’t accuse me of spreading rumors! I really don’t understand what this is all about right now…!”

However, the response he received was cold. The other person’s eyes were cold and devoid of warmth.

“Really? If you don’t know, should we just move on?”

The man surprisingly didn’t delve deeply into the personal information leak; instead, the next topic that followed was an even bigger issue.

“Then let’s get to the point. First of all, I have absolutely no intention of giving you what you want.”

“What did you say?”

“When I become a high-level awakener, I have to follow the association’s instructions during dungeon breaks.”

If he violates this, he won’t be able to use the Hunter Market and will face numerous other inconveniences… He covered his mouth and mumbled, then glanced up.

“But why should I do that?”

What followed was a voice of pure doubt.

“Why should I talk to people like you who can’t do their jobs?”

Although some of the sentences were omitted, his argument was self-evident. Kim Kiryeo firmly stated that he could not follow the association’s orders at the moment.

“Ha, haha. Isn’t that something that can’t be helped? In a disaster situation, it’s only natural that someone must take charge…”

Truly insolent words. The association president clenched his fist as if he was going to explode at any moment upon seeing the other person’s attitude. However, the other person’s action was quicker than his anger. Right after that, Kim Kiryeo placed his cellphone on the wooden table with a thud.

‘Phone?’

The association president reflexively looked down at the table.

[…look at this. Most of the missing bosses have similar traits. Either their numbers increase if left alone, or they grant buffs to the opponent upon death.]

[So this is evidence that they are raising an Imoogi?]

[There are many more. I organized the information on the back page.]

[But why did you bring this here? Things like this should be uh—reported to the police…]

[No, the investigation department said that the boss monster was not under their jurisdiction and called here.]

[Is that so?]

However, the voice coming from the speaker soon…

“Heuph!”

In a corner of the counseling room, a mid-level manager from the association took a deep breath while standing with his arms crossed.

[…I was afraid you might say that, so I also found out the coordinates where the dungeon break will occur. It’s Seoul, District

,

, 163…]

Last October.

A certain appraiser continuously reported that the Rakshasa Temple was trying to commit terrorism using the missing bosses. However, as you might know, the end of that report was…”

[You came here with great effort. Honestly, there’s nothing we can do until the real Imoogi appears.]

[You’re not going to do anything? In this situation?]

The association president’s face hardened in an instant.

“Actually, I’ve always had a habit of keeping records.”

But Kim Kiryeo continued talking without paying attention.

Even though I presented you with the evidence on a silver platter, you didn’t take any action. Do you have anything to say? The Inevitable Malice was a fully expected situation. The damage has increased because you ignored repeated warnings. And now, I’m supposed to follow orders from such people?

Well, something like that.

“That, that reporter was you…?”

“By the way, the subordinates handled the matter, so let’s not pretend like you didn’t know.”

“…!”

“You surely received the department head’s report on the day, didn’t you? Since I was lying in the hallway asking for it.”

“Ah, that.”

“But you left the association even after hearing that.”

Kim Kiryeo sneered as he reflected on that day’s events. Of course, no one from the association dared to speak up. This was clearly their mistake.

“Since we’re on the topic, let me say this. No matter how much people curse me on the internet, it doesn’t affect me at all. But it seems that public opinion might be important for someone like you, who represents the country, doesn’t it?”

Kim Kiryeo said it casually, declaring that their attempts to discredit him through the media had no effect.

“Tsk, anyway, how could a president just play golf and go around leisurely in the face of such a big accident…”

But at that moment, when the president heard the word “golf” from the Awakener’s mouth, he couldn’t hide his bewilderment and shouted.

“Where on earth did you hear that?!”

However, the other person’s reaction was consistent. The man who suddenly became an S-class candidate maintained a bland expression throughout the conversation.

“Hunter Esther.”

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Kiryeo, with a dry tone, soon made a bombshell statement.

“I personally assigned her to investigate. Well, she really wanted to help me, so I thought maybe something like this would work…”

A mere F-class! To think that he has a close relationship with South Korea’s S-Class Hunter, Seo Esther?

“Though I never truly believed it, it turns out that the association actually teamed up with a reporter to slander me. When that was revealed, Esther was really upset, you know?”

“….”

“How can you be okay after making a cursed hunter feel bad?”

The reason the association president had been relaxed until now was because he assumed that the other person wouldn’t easily find out about his tricks. Whether it’s Ahn Yoonseung, Kang Changho, or the young man in front of him, from society’s perspective, they were ultimately powerless individuals.

However, the truth is that Kim Kiryeo had the tremendous backing of being the guild leader of the Korean Magic Tower, and he even had access to the organization’s hidden flaws related to the Inevitable Malice situation.

The association president couldn’t hide his expression and was shocked, but in fact, the psychological damage was not small either.

‘This is ridiculous.’

In fact, this F-class Awakened person was shocked and almost collapsed before entering the consultation room.

“Anyway, how dare you give orders to an S-class.”

In the Alphauri where he lived, people without mana or those who couldn’t wield magic were classified as having a kind of serious illness and were effectively marginalized. However, here, Awakened individuals are a rare anomaly, and even those who are not magicians are trying to control the innate magicians.

‘The world is really upside down.’

Kim Kiryeo looked down on the powerless individuals without mana with contempt. The social structure, where non-Awakened people occupy high positions in the organization, was a culture that was quite incomprehensible to an outsider.

“You, you..”

However, regardless of Alphauri, this is ultimately another world called Earth, and the existing power structures will remain in place for the next few years.

“So what are you trying to say in the end? A, are you suggesting that you’re going to cause a commotion using your Awakening abilities just because you feel upset over what I did?”

“Yes?”

“Are you threatening us right now?”

As expected, the president shamelessly threatened the person in front of him.

It’s not that we don’t have ways to restrain an S-Class Hunter. If you endanger innocent citizens, the international community will not let you go unpunished…

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Wow, you have a loud voice.

“Using your awakening ability on a citizen is really scary…”

Of course, if an S-Class hunter were to really go on a rampage, it would be a serious problem, but aren’t they also human? Without special reasons, S-Class hunters didn’t easily commit serious crimes like killing their own kind. That’s why the official was likely just trying out some light tactics against the hunter.

“Don’t worry. Why would I touch innocent people?”

Kiryeo said readily.

“You guys are the only ones I don’t like.”

But somehow, the words that followed were all filled with a murderous tone.

“Only the association that sold my personal information and ignored my words!”

The man gestured aggressively at the people in front of him, using the muscles of the corpse he was draped in. What followed was a more realistic fear than a fantasy that would never happen.

“What do you think would happen if I released all the recordings I told you earlier and the evidence that you mobilized reporters?”

The association shrank back significantly at the threat of having their incompetence exposed. It was only towards the end of the conversation that Kiryeo finally brought up the topic he had wanted.

“But I will give you a chance to negotiate.”

Fear in people can sometimes be turned into money.

“I won’t silently play the game like so-and-so.”