Maybe because the SH Guild had more or less collapsed for the time being, these days I was going out a lot less than before. I still had to leave the house to listen to those pathetic near-confessions from the Church of Heavenly Decree followers, but aside from that, there wasn’t much reason to be out.

And maybe Kwon Taehan’s side had come to some kind of decision, because they suddenly gave that excuse about how “everything that happened with Hunter Seo has been resolved after enough time passed,” and thanks to that, a whole lot of really entertaining things started coming out online.

Of course, it didn’t bother me. The more public opinion like that piled up, the less Kwon Taehan would be able to ignore me, so if anything, you could call it a positive.

A few minor problems had come up, though.

'Hmm....'

With the SH Guild thrown into disorder, the Hunters affiliated with SH had started gradually working with other guilds. Since things inside the guild still weren’t organized, most of it took the form of support assignments.

In reality, calling it support was just a nice way of saying they were basically getting transfer offers. A few had even left the guild entirely and joined the Hunter Association.

And for me...... there was the very minor problem that not a single Hunter had asked me to come along.

That didn’t mean I was sitting around with nothing to do just because I wasn’t entering Dungeons. Just handling the appraisal work I steadily had while planning out the board ahead kept me busy enough. And while I was at it, I was still tracking down information on Kwon Taehan too.

I sat in my chair, half-assing the sorting of artifacts, then stopped.

'Is this really fine as it is?'

With Kwon Taehan’s appearance, the track had split off completely from before. Just by existing, that bastard would make the original story’s flow move on its own.

So unlike before, when I had to go looking for things to do, now just chasing Kwon Taehan around was enough. But if you asked whether there was really nothing else weighing on me besides that, well...... wasn’t that a no?

Out of all the many things bothering me, the one weighing on me most directly was Im Haekyung. I’d used the bastard so much that now his involvement and interference had started coming in at an excessive level. Meeting Ryu Taeyoung had made that especially clear.

But it was too late now to back out of going to Haeseong. It wouldn’t work anyway.

I needed to figure out how to keep using Im Haekyung to my advantage while also widening the distance between us. Exactly how to do that was something to think through later.

And even after setting Im Haekyung aside, there was still homework left.

'Do Yehyun.'

I tapped the desk with my fingers and sat thinking for a moment.

Do Yehyun had been acting no differently than usual. Pretending not to have a sense of self, sitting quietly as if leaving the decisions to me...... behaving exactly to my taste, never interfering either.

As if they weren’t a person at all, but some useful tool I’d gotten used to handling.

But there was a problem here too. Not the objectification of a person, or that bastard’s little erasure of selfhood, obviously...... the problem was that no matter how much they acted like they had none, they were still a human being with a self in the end.

Do Yehyun hadn’t been born some mild thing with no ego. At least, they hadn’t been like that when I first saw them.

It was just that, because they wanted me to keep needing them, they’d smashed up all their own free will and stayed quietly by my side.... But if you asked whether this was really going the way I wanted...... well, who knew?

'Feels like I’m the one getting dragged in.'

There was nothing they wanted, and there was no contract. Any goodwill had run out, and even that bastard’s moral standards had long since been pushed way down the list.

So then how exactly was I supposed to handle Do Yehyun?

'Do I need to keep shoving my dick into that whore bastard on a regular basis or something?'

The fact that I was even thinking about something like this was ridiculous to begin with.

Well, that didn’t mean it felt bad. If the obsession or the desire got too excessive, I’d have to get a grip on it once, but it still wasn’t at the point where I needed to keep it in check.

And honestly, I was still a little curious. No matter what happened going forward, would they keep sticking by me?

At least in the “original story,” Kwon Taehan and Joo Seowon hadn’t done that.

So if we were really talking about a “problem,” then it was actually Joo Seowon’s side.

Ever since Kwon Taehan appeared, there still hadn’t been any visible changes. Joo Seowon still handled what I told them to handle properly, still lived without stepping outside my surveillance radius, and even when we talked, nothing was different from usual.

I already knew that bastard was uncomfortable about something.

Whether that came from the moral sense closer to Joo Seowon’s nature, or from some external factor caused by Kwon Taehan’s involvement, was something I’d have to watch a bit longer.

Aside from that, it was the same as always. No, to put it more precisely, should I say it was the same as always including that?

When I looked closely at Joo Seowon up close, I still got definite emotional responses back. Breathing, for example. Expressions. Tension in the body.

And on this side there was a covenant in place, in its own way...... so maybe I could afford to keep things a little looser than with Do Yehyun. Or if the time came, I could draw the line then, or pin that bastard down.

Right as I was in the middle of all that thinking, a sudden call came in.

'Yeah, I figured they’d contact me at least once around now.'

I answered without hesitation.

“Yes.”

This time, a voice came through right away with no silence first.

—Jehyun, are you busy?

“Yes, a little.”

As I leaned back lazily in my chair and answered, Im Haekyung continued at once in that calm voice of his.

—Is that so.... Then go do one thing for me. For the record, this isn’t a request, it’s an order, so I won’t be accepting refusal, or excuses that amount to refusal.

“You’re being pretty forceful.”

—If you had a conscience, there are some things you should be doing. Of course, I do know you don’t.

Ignoring the usual nonsense coming out of Im Haekyung’s mouth, I asked,

“So what do you need me to do?”

—Hmm....

“.......”

—Clean up your mess?

That cheerful tone sounded completely out of place.

—Public opinion isn’t great because you ran over one of our country’s S-rank Hunters with a car. You should do one good deed and smooth things over.

“One good deed?”

I was already doing volunteer counseling service for those cult bastards’ little worries, and now I had to do even more good deeds on top of that? It was honestly a little sad that because I was doing it anonymously, nobody knew I was busting my ass.

When I asked back flatly, Im Haekyung, as though he had been waiting for it, started talking smoothly.

—Yes. It’s nothing much, just go deal with one Dungeon. It’ll be a little hard, but not hard enough to kill you. I’ll be going too, so... well.

“You’re coming too?”

—The timing will be a little different. If you get there first, I’ll join you. You just need to stay alive, so it’s pretty easy, right? I’ll give you the credit back. Thanks to one of our guild’s support staff praising you to no end, if this wraps up well, your reputation will... well, go up a little, I guess? As long as you don’t run somebody else over with a car again.

The voice mixed with laughter sounded strangely vicious. I calmly waited until Im Haekyung finished speaking, then asked one more time.

“So what’s the conclusion?”

Dungeon support, sure. I could go do that a few times over if I had to.

Only then did Im Haekyung give a small laugh and finally drop the conclusion.

—You’re leaving the country. Briefly.... Oh, damn, the flight’s at 8 p.m., isn’t it? Ah, and you’ll have one layover, so keep that in mind.

“.......”

Having casually told me to leave the country, Im Haekyung went on in the same peaceful tone.

—You’ll be a little pressed for time packing, but then again, you don’t really need all that much. Since you’re at it, pack like you’re going for a longer stay.

What the fuck is this, exile?

I quietly looked out the window, then answered calmly.

“I don’t want to go.”

—I already got your passport number and issued the ticket.

“Can I report this?”

—I won’t stop you if you can. Of course, you’d better hurry?

So now he’d gone as far as digging up my passport number. I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even laugh hollowly this time.

Still, if it had gotten as far as talk of leaving the country, then wherever it was, the situation had to be serious enough that they were requesting support from Hunters in another country....

“Where?”

The answer came quickly again.

—Australia.

I moved only one hand and searched Australia on the tablet. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

News │ “S-rank Gate” descends on Earth yet again—this time Australia?

(Photo.jpg)

△ Interview with Australia’s A-rank Hunter, Eiker Green

At 12:30 p.m., an S-rank Gate appeared in Perth, Australia. Australia immediately convened an emergency response committee and is currently handling the situation.

Among them, Koda Guild, whose guild master is Australia’s Hunter Eiker Green, has publicly announced that it will step forward voluntarily to clear the Dungeon. Meanwhile, the Australian government has issued an Emergency Warning and immediately evacuated the citizens of Perth.

Australia has announced an “Emergency Meeting on Gate Response” to be held at 2 p.m. the following day, and stated that it plans to begin Gate entry by at least before 9 p.m.

He was telling me to leave the country today and then what...... go into an S-rank Gate?

'Has he finally lost his fucking mind?'

Maybe the work had piled up so badly he couldn’t think straight anymore. It felt like just the other day he had thrown me into an S-rank Gate on his own authority, and now he was casually saying it after already issuing the ticket, which made it seem like he’d gone completely off the rails.

—The layover is in Kuala Lumpur. If the situation were different, I would’ve told you to rest for a day or so, but the transfer time is a little tight, so I guess you’ll get to enjoy the airport for about... an hour and a half?

“I don’t think I can go.”

—Why?

“Looks dangerous?”

—That’s strange. Weren’t you originally the kind of dopamine addict who finds things more fun the more dangerous they are?

Should I just hang up now? I felt like I’d listened to enough.

—Just go without arguing. I’m making a justification for bringing you into Haeseong, so... cooperate a little. You’re not the type to listen to anything I say unless I force it down your throat.

That was true. I checked the time, then slowly got to my feet.

A transfer into Haeseong without any noise about it.... I didn’t think that was going to happen just because I went into one Dungeon and came back out.

“Do I get anything when I come back?”

—Hmm.... Honestly, I don’t know whether to call that shameless or what....

Im Haekyung trailed off and fell silent for a moment, then changed the subject.

—Ah, I booked two tickets.

Two?

Before I could even ask why he had booked two, Im Haekyung’s calm voice came through.

—It means you’re going with Seowon.