Chapter 380

My shocking declaration made the number-one-ranked Hunter freeze on the spot.

His face had gone even paler than during our worst arguments, when I had hurled every curse I knew at him.

"—..."

Calling myself an agent instead of an alien was, of course, utter nonsense. But as far as excuses an Earth native could reasonably accept went, that was about the limit.

"What's the point of revealing my identity when, to me, you're all strangers from somewhere else in the universe anyway?"

Seen purely through the senses of the Earthling Kim Giryeo, the Alphaus were bizarre life-forms whose bodies were covered in a sticky kaleidoscope of colors.

Imagine entering a place where billions of people all looked like monsters of that sort.

And then imagine standing alone among them, the only one wrapped in opaque skin.

How would that feel?

That was precisely why I had no choice but to conceal my deepest secret.

Even this cradle of life called Earth, which had grown so warmly familiar to me, would forever remain an alien world to someone like me, who had only recently crawled ashore.

"No matter how beautiful or magnificent a planet may be, in the end..."

Sadly, an outsider has to watch their step wherever they go.

"Besides, words are incredibly powerful. Saying something takes only a moment, but once it settles into someone else's mind, taking it back becomes extremely difficult."

Once again, I reminded myself that erasing memories required high-level magic.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason I was spouting nonsense.

Setting aside my personal desire to avoid making things more complicated, it was probably better for the people of Earth not to know whether extraterrestrial life existed in the first place.

"I don't want to put innocent humanity under unnecessary stress."

For a moment, the sour face of a government official flashed through my mind.

But, true to my cold-blooded nature, I ruthlessly pushed the thought aside and focused on the problem at hand.

"Anyway! From now on, there's no need to waste time persuading anyone. No matter how the other side reacts, I just have to do what I need to do."

And there was one more difficult matter I had to deal with.

This world...

It was a planet where, if you were late paying your taxes, penalties accumulated with every passing 'day.'

So the instant I remembered the debt I had to settle starting in February, I immediately got moving.

"Hunter Kim Giryeo... are you really... um, an agent...?"

While the man stood there in confusion, I brushed past him and strode confidently into the dungeon.

From Jung Haseong's perspective, there was frankly nothing left he could do.

An SS-rank veteran patriot—currently posing as a government agent—was about to begin an operation for the sake of the people, silently protecting South Korea from the shadows.

What justification could an ordinary citizen who had lived his life without any particular cause possibly have for stopping him?

***

A national hero had been thrown into utter confusion by a single lie.

Unfortunately, the collateral damage did not end there.

"Hunter Kim Giryeo? What brings you to Seoul...?"

"Ah! Is it because of that? Did you see all the commotion on TV about that unprecedented Cataclysm Dungeon or whatever?"

"Hunter Kim, it's alright. We can handle this ourselves..."

A few days later, having completely given up on winning anyone over with words, I appeared before the humans with a more ruthless attitude than ever.

And as I swept aside the S-ranks blocking my path, I spoke.

"Ah, it's fine. I appreciate the thought, but everyone, step aside. The President said we shouldn't drag this out and stress the residents unnecessarily. He wants it dealt with quickly."

I shamelessly borrowed the authority of a famous name!

Since I was already freely manipulating corpses, I delivered the lie without so much as blinking.

For reference, Namgoong—the man whose position as the President of South Korea I had just exploited—was apparently completely unaware of any of this and was busy organizing an emergency response committee.

"D-Directly from that high up...?"

"Huh? What? No, wait. What on earth was that just now?"

Seo Esther's eyes widened like a rabbit's.

Meanwhile, Jung Haseong, who had been standing in front of the dungeon entrance, was pushed aside with all the helplessness of a newborn gazelle by a single gesture from me, an extraterrestrial being.

Thud.

In many ways, the scene was close to complete chaos.

Then again, things had always turned into a mess even on the days when I told the truth.

With the monumental burden of 40 billion won hanging over me, I decided not to waste any more time on half-hearted attempts at persuasion.

"Come to think of it, if I'm delinquent on 40 billion won in taxes, I might actually end up meeting the President. Though probably not under pleasant circumstances."

I wanted to avoid being expelled from South Korea at all costs.

There were still far too many foods I hadn't tried.

And this country had all four seasons, mountains, rivers, plains, and even the sea, all packed into one place.

For an alien whose hobby was observation, it was practically ideal.

And so I entered the new [Cataclysm] gate alone—the very gate the other S-ranks had been struggling with.

"No, Jung Haseong-ssi. I told you, explain it properly. What exactly did Giryeo say?"

"I'm not sure I should put it into my own words..."

Of course, clearing the dungeon didn't take long.

I returned so quickly that even the guild masters who had been arguing near the entrance fell silent.

The troublesome nest that the strong had spent days cautiously probing had been dealt with in an instant.

Thud, thud, thud.

At last, I stepped outside with the enemy commander's head {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} in one hand.

Judging by the conditions inside, this gate wasn't suitable for weak transporters to enter.

So, using the discernment of an archmage, I had personally gathered all the valuable materials before leaving.

"Ah, perfect. I got a ton of loot today!"

Better yet, defeating the boss had produced something genuinely worthwhile for the first time in ages.

A high-grade rare earring.

Depending on its appraised value, an item packed with this many effects might wipe out the rest of my debt in one stroke.

"G-Giryeo-ssi."

Still, I had to account for the possibility that things wouldn't go according to plan.

Which meant I also needed to deal with these human speed bumps.

"Hello, Guild Master Esther. It's been a while."

At this point, it was a perfectly normal, perfectly human greeting.

Dressed in a suit like an ordinary office worker, I calmly conveyed my intentions.

"By the way, I know this is a little late to mention, but I'm actually a patriotic awakened secret agent working for the government."

"Yes?"

"And because I genuinely enjoy protecting South Korea, I'm doing all this voluntarily. So I'm sorry, but please don't interfere with the one joy I have in life—"

"Y-Yes!?"

"Then, thank you for your hard work today."

Every word of it was absurd.

But that was exactly the point.

"When an SS-rank Hunter starts forcing his way through, the reason stops mattering."

I decided to solve the problem I had been struggling with by using 'time.'

Even now, looking back, it was genuinely unfortunate that Jung Haseong—who had nearly been persuaded—had changed his mind because of what happened during the island-removal operation.

One year.

Five years.

Ten years.

Twenty years.

What if I spent all that time proving, over and over again, that I could survive perfectly well?

Would they really keep reacting so annoyingly and overprotectively even then?

"The odds are low."

Honestly, the misunderstanding that I was some terminal patient on the verge of death would naturally fade with time.

And above all, if it weren't for situations like '40 billion won due by February,' there would be no reason for me to work every single day.

"First, I'll cut back however I have to and cover the 40 billion won. After that, I can seriously start thinking about when to retire."

The confusion I was causing right now was only temporary.

"Let's just keep going until then."

Once I achieved financial peace, I could afford to spend several years talking things through properly.

Having settled my priorities, I tightened my grip on the boss's head.

For reference, the head of the monster that had appeared this time was made from an extraordinarily durable material—so tough that even an S-rank Hunter couldn't possibly break it.

"With properties like these, maybe it'll fetch a decent price?"

Modern Hunters really could make money absurdly easily.

But I was still far from my goal.

So even on the way back to the house I had recently purchased, I kept glancing around for any unoccupied gates.

.

.

.

Incidentally, things were going to work themselves out much faster than I'd expected.

"Oho."

A few days later.

It was already the second week of January.

Swipe.

I flicked across my phone screen and checked the calendar.

On a date not far away, I spotted the words Daehan—Great Cold.

As the name suggested, it was the season when bitter cold descended.

And yet, despite the harsh winter outside, I was basking comfortably in the warmth of my bank balance.

"Just like the auctioneer said, it really did sell for a high price."

What else could possibly make a wizard from Alphaus this happy?

Recently, I had made a great deal of money.

That wasn't an exaggeration.

My earnings had climbed to nearly 4 billion won.

Under ordinary circumstances, that was the kind of sum most people might not see even after working their entire lives.

I had earned it in only two weeks.

"And after being dragged around the workplace nonstop, one decent rare drop gives me a result like this!"

Adding the money I had received from Turkey brought the total to roughly 11 billion won.

Then, including the proceeds from selling assorted magical tools such as the [Surprise Box], it came to 11.5 billion won.

"This is incredible."

Yes.

At this point, it really was an incredible achievement.

Somewhere along the way, my desire to shorten the number of days I would have to work had caused me to forget all restraint, and I had spent every single day hunting diligently.

As a result, I had accomplished the remarkable feat of rapidly reducing my debt.

"Hahaha."

Of course, all those calculations were based on figures before taxes.

"Calm down, calm down. I'm a mature mage, after all. I absolutely must not erase an entire country over something like this..."

Fortunately, founding a guild had granted me access to various benefits.

In reality, however, I wasn't even making full use of them.

Minimum staffing requirements, sales volume, and the other conditions necessary for operating a proper guild were all still unmet.

There were surprisingly many requirements one had to satisfy before receiving government support.

In other words, before I could enjoy any meaningful benefits, I first had to pour a certain amount of money into a company that existed in little more than name.

"This is so annoying!"

Still, I had wanted to hire a dedicated accountant for quite some time.

So for a brief moment, I found myself thinking that perhaps it was fortunate I finally had an excuse to employ one.

"I just want to experience everything simply, except for magical studies. Why does life have to be so complicated?"

Thud.

With an unusually rare stretch of free time on my hands, I flopped onto the living-room sofa.

Still, at this rate, all I needed was one lucky break in an A-rank dungeon.

If another piece of high-tier equipment dropped, my financial worries—whether before or after taxes—would effectively be over.

"Only one lucky break from here on out?"

That realization came only after I had finished running all the numbers.

The crushing wave that had once been 40 billion won suddenly felt much lighter.

And at last, I relaxed.

As my impatience subsided, my usual rationality gradually returned.

"Did I go a little too far this time?"

I thought back over everything I had said, including the deliberately shocking claims about being affiliated with the National Intelligence Service.

After turning each of those statements over in my mind, I soon reached a conclusion.

"For a while, it was refreshing to have everyone stop interfering. But still, treating the few alien acquaintances I genuinely consider special like that might have been a bit much. Even if they don't understand, I should at least keep trying to persuade them..."

Of course, the thought of exposing myself to those kinds of items again still made me uneasy.

But when I considered it carefully, Seo Esther and Jung Haseong didn't seem like the sort of people who would indulge in reckless curiosity.

If I firmly told them to limit themselves to the questions I permitted, they would probably keep their word.

Therefore,

"Maybe, someday in the distant future, I could even borrow [Justitia] and hold a self-interrogation session?"

Only now did I begin seriously considering the possibility of using an item to clear up the misunderstandings.

Until now, I hadn't even dared suggest it, partly because I hated the thought of wasting money.

"Anyway, that item is already accounted for. And on this side, I can just bluff that, as someone from the National Intelligence Service, I'm not going to die of tuberculosis."

Perhaps even bringing up [Justitia] would itself come across as a display of confidence.

"I feel bad for the people whose identities I'm borrowing, but if I want to explain my suspiciously extensive knowledge, I don't have many other options."

Borrowing [Justitia] was an excellent solution in every respect except one.

The cost was enormous.

After thinking over several possibilities, I rose from the sofa.

There was no point spending a weekday sitting around alone.

In fact, if I wanted to pay off my debt, I needed to get outside and work diligently without taking breaks.

"I hope something higher-grade drops today."

But then—

[Ting.]

The moment I unlocked my phone, a notification appeared.

"..."

As though drawn in by the sound, I opened the app.

A report about an overseas incident was playing on one of the public broadcasting channels I often watched.

"No, not the dungeon rank..."

Apparently, an S-rank gate had been discovered in India sometime yesterday.

And lately, the things coming out of dungeons had been anything but ordinary.

"What?"

That was when it happened.

As I quietly listened to the announcer, the next piece of information made a single thought flash through my mind.

Have the Gisimche finally gone completely insane?