Chapter 360

Before getting into the main story, let me explain.

Kim Giryeo was someone who had regained his strength.

That meant he was now strong enough to make the ruthless decision to exploit every connection he had built up.

So he pulled out his phone and, without hesitation, contacted a foreigner named Andy Oliver first.

Between Andy Oliver and himself, the condition imposed by the [Knight's Oath]—half-recycled from the [Fairy's Promise]—still remained in effect. Whenever Andy recognized that a question had been asked, he was required to answer immediately.

Even so, Kim Giryeo had never imagined he would receive a reply like this.

‘W-what?’

A few minutes later, Kim Giryeo stared at the returned message in disbelief.

[Andy: To put it briefly, as luck would have it, I currently do not have a single penny in cash.

First reason: A large portion of my wealth was spent constructing the bunker.

Second reason: Although my technical partnership with PIXY remains intact, I forfeited part of my profit share when I reset my identity.

Third reason: The only foundation that allowed me to retain any degree of financial power was the sale of various kinds of personal data I had collected. However, under my contract with you, all illegal activities have now been prohibited.

Furthermore, I could provide several additional explanations for my current circumstances. This sentence was translated using an automatic translator.]

Andy Oliver had no money?

How could that possibly make sense?

[Me: What kind of nonsense is this, you criminal bastard? Do you seriously expect me to believe that the son of PIXY's founder has no money?]

Giryeo frantically tapped at the keyboard.

But since the oath was imposed by a cursed item, its rules did not change merely because the conversation had shifted from spoken words to typed messages...

[Andy: For your reference, Gi Ryeo.

I have been bound by the contract with you.

Therefore, under the terms of the covenant, from this point onward I must recruit workers through entirely legitimate means.

Naturally, like any other large corporation, I will also have to provide them with affordable health insurance.

(This is intended to fundamentally prevent terrorism by individuals who have obtained access to scrolls such as 333 or Spectrum. However, since Spectrum will, with high probability, receive a life sentence in the United States after trial, the number of individuals I will actually need to restrain should be limited.)

Such preparations naturally require a considerable amount of funding.

And in this age of advanced technology, war is no longer merely a clash between people.

War is a contest of money and power.

However, to fulfill this mission, I must devote everything I have to it. (If I fail to uphold the oath, I will die.)

As a result, I invested my entire fortune.

Preparations have already been underway for two months.

Every bit of money spent on my end has been used solely and exclusively to carry out your command.]

At the end of the lengthy message, Andy Oliver added one final declaration.

[Andy: For the record, if you tell me to hand over money while I am already cornered like this, I will simply choose death instead.]

It was an earnest explanation.

If his remaining funds were taken away, carrying out Giryeo's command would inevitably become impossible.

‘Damn it.’

Only then did Kim Giryeo begin to understand Andy Oliver's circumstances.

‘That useless bastard. Seriously, once the effect of that scroll wears off, I'll deal with you again.’

So Giryeo asked whether Andy Oliver knew anything about tax evasion.

Andy had once been a major player in the underworld, so it seemed only natural that he might possess that sort of knowledge.

But the response he received was colder than the winter air.

Instead, the foreigner began lamenting about just how mercilessly strict his own country was when it came to taxes.

[Andy: To be honest, there have been more than a few occasions when I wanted to relocate the headquarters because of that.]

Then he revealed a shocking truth.

On Earth, there really were countries where failing to pay taxes could get you shot.

Especially in the modern era, with superhumans beginning to emerge, people even joked that committing tax evasion might result in tanks rolling up to your front door.

No matter how powerful PIXY Corporation's executives might be, even they could not afford to disregard the tax authorities.

[Andy: By the way, I'm asking purely out of curiosity, but is the atmosphere surrounding the tax authorities in Korea different from that of our country? Is that why you're asking me about methods of tax evasion?]

I don't know.

The alien had yet to experience the might of the Korean National Tax Service firsthand, but an ominous feeling told him that he might soon find out.

‘Damn it.’

Kim Giryeo quickly swiped across the screen with his finger.

If he dismantled the automated hunting system that relied on Andy Oliver as a proxy, he himself would ultimately be the one inconvenienced.

That much was undeniably true.

Which meant that, from this point onward, he had no choice but to cling to his final remaining lifeline.

[Contact]

[Iori Japan]

A message was soon sent to a contact he had not used in quite some time.

‘Hunters from the neighboring country! Come to think of it, half of this is your fault too. Y-you people should've had the sense to take care of the taxes while you were at it.’

For now, this was the only remaining place he could think of turning to.

That fact alone made him nervous.

‘Forget that promise about dispatching manpower or whatever. Just please... send me some money...!’

But strangely enough, his phone remained silent.

Japan was not supposed to have any significant time difference from here, so why was there no reply?

Could Hunter Iori be busy having lunch?

Or perhaps she had temporarily entered a dungeon?

“Hunter-nim. By the way, who have you been trying to contact this whole time?”

“A Japanese person named Iori.”

Kim Giryeo wore a mask of expressionless dread.

But at that moment, Seonwoo Yeon, who had been quietly watching the situation unfold, seemed to remember something.

And finally, she delivered a piece of information that only poured more oil onto the fire.

“Huh? Didn't you see the news?”

For reference, Kim Giryeo had spent the past week or two searching for furniture.

His move was right around the corner, after all.

Unfortunately, while one particular report had been circulating heavily through the algorithms, he had failed to encounter any information about it.

“What news?”

“Japan is in chaos right now. Especially that S-rank hunter named Iori, who apparently has the same attribute as me. It's only natural that you can't reach them.”

“What do you mean?”

At those words, the fleeting image of a tentacled monster wrapping itself around the golden-haired man's head passed through his mind.

“Japan has always had an unusually strong aversion to Awakened people, you know.”

That was hardly the only image that surfaced.

Kim Giryeo had, in fact, seen plenty of news reports in the past about discriminatory protests in that country.

“But recently, something happened that became a trigger. To be precise, a university student awakened and, after a minor dispute, ended up harming his friend... and his friend's family.”

“Hmm.”

“And that's me putting it as mildly as possible. In reality, the case was so horrific that even veteran investigators were shaken by it.”

“Using magic for something like that...”

“That's why Japan is in chaos right now.”

“Has hatred toward ability users suddenly exploded?”

“Exactly. The legal community is in an uproar too. They're even pushing bills that would restrict Awakened people in their everyday lives...”

He had felt uneasy about the situation for some time.

And now, their neighboring country was in the middle of a full-scale crisis.

“But from the perspective of ordinary Awakened people, it's something they can't help but feel is terribly unfair.”

“Right.”

“So, as a representative figure among Hunters, this person named Iori was involved in public activities... but recently, they were attacked by an extremist anti-Awakened group.”

“What?”

“They say it wasn't life-threatening, but there haven't been any follow-up reports since then. So the reason you can't reach them right now is probably...”

After hearing everything, Kim Giryeo arrived at a thought.

Perhaps dogs were the true rulers of Earth.

Considering how often everything on this planet descended into utter chaos, that was the only conclusion that seemed reasonable.

His worries only deepened.

“Hmm.”

Setting aside the fact that Iori could not be reached, Kim Giryeo searched the news online.

The additional results showed that Montake Ito, the fire-wielding mage, was also extremely busy.

‘So because of conflict with non-Awakened civilians, the entire country is in chaos. And since they can't afford any setbacks under circumstances like these, they're throwing themselves into dungeon raids like it's some kind of full-scale national campaign?’

Is he insane about his country...?

In any case, if Giryeo suddenly demanded 40 billion won from them at a time like this, the consequences were obvious.

The main issue was reputation.

A high-ranking Awakened from Korea abruptly threatening foreign figures and extorting money from them?

That was exactly the sort of story that would make headlines.

‘If journalists with a strong sense of professional duty get hold of this, things could become pretty awkward.’

For reference, the alien currently living as Kim Giryeo was somewhat lacking in common sense.

That did not mean he was completely oblivious.

‘The only reason I could demand money so boldly in the first place was because of the attempted superpower murder at the Kagoshima Gate...’

He could therefore predict what would happen if he chose to act now.

‘If my connection to the Japanese hunters becomes public, the already terrible image of Awakened people will be completely ruined.’

That would be awkward.

Tentacles were hardly organs designed to curl inward toward their own kind, but even so, when it came to another mage, a certain instinctive sense of affinity did arise.

‘Hmm.’

After a long period of deliberation, Kim Giryeo temporarily abandoned the idea of extracting yen from Iori.

That left him with very few options.

‘For now, tutoring Esther comes to mind. At 3 billion won a month, though, it'll still take several months.’

Besides, suddenly demanding more from Esther than the 3 billion won he received from Jung Haseong would practically be begging to get cursed.

So that plan was out as well.

‘Ugh.’

“Why are you suddenly making that face, Hunter Kim Giryeo?”

“I just remembered. There's another debt of 70 million won. I signed a contract to install a swimming pool at the new house, but the payment hasn't gone through yet.”

“Cancel the construction immediately!”

“No. I've already paid a large deposit.”

“Gasp!”

“And to be honest, I've always wanted an Earth-style swimming pool. Besides, even if things are a little tight for the moment, that doesn't really mean...”

What was he supposed to do?

At this rate, did he truly have no choice but to deal with the problem himself?

Kim Giryeo clutched his head in anguish as though he had fallen under the spell of a siren.

Yet even while he writhed in despair, the terrifying month of February continued its relentless approach, second by second.

“Hunter Kim Giryeo, just so you know, our country has a fixed deadline for paying taxes in installments.”

“...”

“To be honest, I've never dealt with a case this large before... but normally, once the legally defined grace period ends, additional penalties begin to apply.”

“What exactly are those additional penalties?”

“Simply put, you'll have to pay interest on whatever amount remains unpaid.”

“Mammals are really terrible...”

And because he had forgotten to register his change of address, he barely had any time left.

Retirement canceled.

And, on top of that, several months of guaranteed labor ahead of him.

It was the completion of a sentence he had never wanted to imagine.

The Alphau was so shocked that, for a while, he could not even speak.

Thus, if he wanted to postpone his return to the life of labor that suited him so poorly by even a single second, he had no choice but to struggle in whatever way he could.

[# In Good Condition # Bulk Purchase of Used Items from the List - Discounts ($1$ Quick Sale! Please contact via verified number only@@@]

With Seonwoo Yeon's help, he began selling off his household belongings.

***

Dishwasher.

Styler.

Robot vacuum.

‘I honestly feel like selling every last pair of pants I own.’

It was Tuesday when the things that were not strictly necessary for a grand sorcerer—but which he had bought either to resemble an ordinary local of this planet or simply out of curiosity—were finally listed on the secondhand market.

Kim Giryeo swallowed his tears as he looked around his now-empty home.

Whether to work or not.

In truth, there was already one way to escape this painful dilemma instantly.

But...

‘...’

Swish.

At first glance, the object looked fairly ordinary.

But the moment the sword was drawn, its distinctive green glow immediately captured the eye.

[Hydra]

It was an epic-grade artifact with genuinely formidable offensive capabilities.

If sold, it would fetch an enormous sum.

Moreover, now that the Alphau had regained his strength, the sword—which had once served as one of his stacked resources—was almost unnecessary.

Lately, the number of times he drew it had fallen dramatically, to the point that even the [Screaming Stake] saw more use.

And yet, even knowing all of that, Kim Giryeo could not bring himself to decide.

[Hydra]

When he finally worked up the courage to take it from the item box, the blade somehow felt painfully familiar in his hands.

The longer he stared at it, the more it seemed as though faint whispers were drifting through the air.

[Hydra]

This was the kind of rare item that might not appear even once in an entire year.

Once it left his hands, obtaining another would be nearly impossible.

Kough.

The alien immediately pulled the sheathed longsword into an embrace.

Much like humans who gave names to old doll-like objects made of polyester, he too had gradually grown attached to the possessions that had stayed with him over time.

‘Since it's an item I obtained less than a year after coming to Earth, I'll keep [Hydra] as a memento.’

Honestly, selling it would simply be troublesome.

With his current abilities, he would eventually earn back the hundreds of billions he owed anyway.

After indulging in that small bit of rationalization, the alien began preparing to leave the house.

‘I've more or less sold off all the useless furniture.’

In fact, this was true not only in Korea, but in most countries.

‘What remains are what we call “junk items.”’

In this world, private resale of magical tools between individuals was prohibited.

That meant he would now have to visit a consignment shop in a major city if he wanted to sell his artifacts.

In a sense, that was only natural.

However, the items the archmage began putting up for sale with barely a second thought would unexpectedly make waves in the market...

<Wednesday>

Several hours later.

A peaceful afternoon.

“Hmm?”

Tuk, tuk.

Someone lying on a bed and idly tapping at a tablet happened across a post online.

[Items Sold On-Site by Hunter KGR at the Auction]

[1. Surprise Box

2. Common Item Box

3. Screaming Stake

These are the items I've managed to confirm so far, though honestly, I only took a quick look. I'll have to check the updated listings in the auction app later to get a more accurate picture.]

“What?”

For reference, the person who stumbled across the post was A-rank Awakened Jo Sangoh.

‘Kim Giryeo sold a Surprise Box?’