Chapter 143. Kagashima Dragon Raid (6)

It was truly a 60 seconds filled with lies. Once I stepped out of the gate, the air felt so refreshing.

– Click, click, click!

But it seems like I'll need to keep up the act a little longer.

"They came out!"

"Is the gate clear?"

"It's Kim Giryeo!"

The exit was already crowded with reporters.

***

Moritake Ito. Former securities firm employee, now an S-rank Hunter.

He thought to himself in the experience of being tied up and thrown on the ground, something he had never experienced in his life. Life really doesn't go as planned.

After the restraints were released, he hurriedly chased after Kim Giryeo, but by the time he reached the exit, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered. With his back against the wall, he no longer felt the urge to even try to do something.

Click, click, click, click.

"Ugh."

The foreign reporters were all over the place, so now, it seemed like the only left was for his crimes to be exposed to the world.

"Moritake-san!"

"Please say a few words!"

"Goodness, Japan really managed to conquer an S-rank dungeon..."

But for some reason, to everyone's surprise, Kim Giryeo didn't speak a word in front of the people. He just silently stared at the Japanese who followed him, and then vanished into the mass of people. A few seconds later, the other side seemed to be answering the reporters' questions in Korean, but even those answers were brief. In other words, Kim Giryeo didn't mention anything about the incident inside the dungeon.

"Huh...?"

No way, is it really going to pass like this? Was he really covering up his own mistake? Ito briefly thought this, but it was merely a misconception.

After careful calculation, Giryeo chose to remain silent—not because he was covering for his mistakes, but because he couldn't gauge just how powerful the Imabari Guild was within its own country. If they were strong enough to control the media, reporting them wouldn't make any difference. Moreover, by the time the Korean was boarding the plane on the runway, the true cost of all mistakes began to show up.

***

"I'm going to quit that guild."

Inside the hospital room wrapped in white cloth. After some time had passed, the Japanese hunter who had fainted regained consciousness.

However, as soon as the wind-attribute awakened person recovered his health, he told those gathered at the hospital bed. Regardless of the fact that they had injured them, what mattered more was that those people had made a choice that no human should ever make.

"Iori..."

"This isn't something that can be resolved with just a 'sorry.' I trust Moritake-kun understands that as well."

"I just..."

"After studying the Hawaiian precedents so much, how dare you be stingy with the payment of Legendary?"

The patient sitting on the edge of the bed looks at his former colleagues with contempt.

"How can you come here now and belittle the help of others as you please? If the dungeon's boss had acted on their own, we would be receiving a death sentence from the doctor right now!"

Just like how the one who killed the most S-rank hunters in the United States was ultimately the Nuckelavee, it was clear that if the boss of the dungeon they encountered hadn't been stopped by someone's binding magic, the Japanese hunters would have been ruthlessly slaughtered.

"Let alone having 0 deaths, half of the people here would have died by now...!"

The person who was nursing the injured next to him nodded in agreement with Iori's words.

Short, dark blue hair. This person was another S-rank from Japan, possessing the awakened ability of the electric attribute.

"I was in pretty bad shape back then, so I had no choice but to pretend to follow Ito's words. But still, I've decided—I'm quitting the guild too."

"What did you say?"

"Honestly, I don't care whether you hit a Korean or not, but you even laid a hand on Iori, didn't you?"

The expressions on the faces of the hunters gathered in the hospital room turned strange at this remark.

"..."

"I'm going to be independent now. If you don't let me go, I'm thinking of emigrating."

"..."

"...If you have a mouth, at least say something. Ito, don't you have any thoughts after hearing this from me?"

[Imabari] Guild. When we first established this organization, we thought that we should join forces as S-ranks, unlike other countries. Even in the age of individualization, we believed that there were still values in this world that would never fade. That's how we sought long-term collaboration.

"Haa..."

The peace we had built over time, with teamwork that could be considered as close as a second family, shattered in an instant.

Iori and the lightning wizard's sharp gazes met. However, their eyes soon showed signs of surprise. Soon, the silent guild leader knelt on the hospital floor.

"Ito?"

"Moritake..."

Their leader had a strong sense of pride. Perhaps because he had worked in the fierce financial world, his desire to win seemed higher than most. But then, this man suddenly knelt. With his head bowed low in a humiliating manner, he spoke.

"I'm really sorry."

He really hadn't intended to do this. Looking back, it felt as though he had been possessed by a ghost at the time. Blinded by the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he had tried to betray the only benefactor who had extended a helping hand. But was his action solely driven by greed?

Ito didn't think so. In a way, this was a crime born from emotions that had been building up over the years.

Inferiority complex. Inferiority complex. Anyway, that damn inferiority complex.

"As expected, so that was the reason."

Moritake Ito was originally a highly promising talent on a global scale. Despite possessing an unusually high amount of mana, there was no separate classification for ranks internationally, so he spent some time as an A-rank. However, after the new ranking system was introduced, his rank was quickly corrected, making him effectively one of the first to become S-rank.

When he awakened, countries with S-rank hunters were still rare, so he naturally became the focus of national expectations. He was called the pride of East Asia, the son of the sun. In these days of Dungeon Shock, he was treated almost like a member of the royal family.

"I've told you countless times not to worry about hunters from other countries. You are you."

?!

But if he had known the future would turn out like this, he would have rather been born as just a decent B-rank.

Jung Haseong. Ever since that young man appeared, his life had completely changed.

[Urgent! The first S-rank in the neighboring country confirmed to be of the Fire attribute!]

The same attribute.

The same rank.

And both being the first S-rank in their respective countries.

Jung Haseong happened to have many similarities with Ito, but there was one characteristic that would never change.

[Is the machine broken?]

[Woww, that hunter's awakening stats have so many zeros.]

That young man with the neat appearance was truly a prodigy, born with a talent so extraordinary that even if he died and was revived, it would be impossible to catch up to him.

The pain of falling from a high place is greater than the pain of living a life of wandering from a low place. Moritake Ito, with the appearance of Jung Haseong, had been tormented by comparisons he never could have imagined. In the beginning, the domestic media promoted Ito and belittled Haseong as if they were protecting their own family, but...

[Jung Haseong, who single-handedly brought down the White Tower, an incredible achievement!... Sweeping through 3-tier dungeons, including A-rank]

Even that had quieted down after the clearing of a certain gate.

[Jung Haseong clears three dungeons a day with ease, but what is he doing? Pay for the building you destroyed! You incompetent fool ( ﾟдﾟ)]

If even siblings are constantly compared, it would create a mental burden, and now, with the whole world weighing him against that young man, Ito felt like he might explode from frustration. And yet, amidst all this, the troublesome treasure made its appearance.

I must have really been crazy. I swore to protect people, to protect the citizens, yet how could I be swayed by just a single sword...

The malicious reporting by the media became more active around the beginning of last year, when a Korean Ranker coincidentally acquired the Legendary item. Since the dragon named Jung Haseong had grasped the Legendary treasure, the disdain spread everywhere, claiming that no mere mortal would ever catch up to him, no matter how many years passed.

However, contrary to the expectation that there would be a tremendous rise in power, Haseong had yet to discover the true capabilities of the artifact up to this moment.

I thought that if I succeeded in interpreting the Legendary first in times like this, I would finally be able to defeat him for the first time.

Ito deeply regretted his actions. However, this was hardly accepted by others.

"It's funny. If Hunter Giryeo hadn't been so strong, you wouldn't have even had the chance to repent."

At that moment, the other Japanese hunters who had followed the guild leader started questioning him. How could they be so heartless towards one of their own? They demanded to know if he really thought it was acceptable for such a dangerous item to be handed over to the neighboring country.

"Shut up!"

However, the wind wizard in the hospital bed scowled and reproached them.

"Are you all still not understanding the situation? You've just messed with a hunter who can instantly neutralize three S-ranks!"

The following statement was a fearful question of whether Kim Giryeo would continue to keep quiet about this matter. They flinched at Iori's loud voice and began to think. Come to think of it, this whole situation had put the Imabari Guild in a massive vulnerable position. Was it simply because the artifact didn't suit his skills? Or had they acknowledged the achievement of conquering the S-rank gate?

Kim Giryeo had generously handed over the Legendary and spared their lives, but he had never once promised to keep this secret.

"Now you get it? We're in a position where it wouldn't be strange if we're threatened at any moment. No matter what happens inside the dungeon, if he ever testifies in front of [Justitia]..."

The young-looking hunter gripped the blanket so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

"If it were up to me, I'd reveal everything you've done in front of everyone right now, and clear myself of any wrongdoing!"

"I, Iori."

"Do you know why I can't do that? Because if I did, we'd all be torn apart by the management bureau!"

"Ah..."

"Haa, the anti-hunter sentiment has been growing every year as it is, and now, at a time like this, what the hell are you all doing?"

Murder among awakened ones!

Iori vented all his frustrations and then rubbed his head. From the perspective of image management for awakened ones within Japan, they couldn't afford to attend to a crime so recklessly.

But at this time, Ito, who had been kneeling until now, spoke in a serious tone.

"...For now."

All eyes were inevitably drawn to the guild leader's voice.

"Don't worry about the second witness. It's Kang Changho. Before leaving the dungeon, he said this to my translator."

"What did he say?"

"He said he'd let it slide too, so don't worry. Since Hunter Kim Giryeo showed such generosity first, how could the elder interfere and spoil things?"

"..."

"... He didn't seem to be in the mood to expose us first."

Kang Changho forgave us. But the biggest issue in this situation is the blonde one. What is he planning to do?

"And as for Kim Giryeo's matter... no matter how I think about it, it seems like the only option is to bow down and hope for his mercy."

"Ito-san."

"Of course, I can't do it alone. That's why I'm planning to borrow a little bit of everyone's strength for what's to come..."

The short-haired guild member sneered at Ito's words.

"Does that mean I have to follow Moritake-kun's orders again?"

However, the guild members' expressions quickly changed after the guild leader's words.

"Right. It's hard for you to trust a leader who gave the wrong orders twice. And on top of that, I've revealed my ugly greed for all to see."

"No, I just..."

"I don't think this will restore the broken trust, but as a sign of repentance, I will give up my authority over the Legendary item."

It was a bombshell statement.

"I will distribute the ownership of the items equally among you, the raiders. Please cooperate with the apology in exchange for this."

"So you're saying it's a public good."

"And as for the concern earlier, that a greedy person like me might harm any allies in the future, I'll answer that with the [Knight's Oath]."

"Are you serious?"

"I swear I will never betray you for the rest of my life. So please, don't leave the guild..."

In response to Ito's statement, the expression of the awakened person who controls lightning changes. But only Iori, lying in the hospital bed, maintained a consistent attitude.

"Even if you say that, I can't forgive the guild leader."

Perhaps it could be said that he was more consistently confused than anyone else in this room.

"However, depending on how you treat Kim Giryeo, the extent of our relationship from now on could change."

"...?"

"First of all, since I'm tired, just tell me what. Are your plans for apologizing to him?"

Author Thoughts

Hi, from now on, I will update this novel 3 chapters/week. Thank you for all your support so far:)