Chapter 418

"Weren't the items we got this time meant for the global market so we could sell them for the highest possible price?"

So poison items couldn't simply be sold domestically.

Beep, beep, beep.

But when there was a gap in my memory, there was a fairly simple way to fill it.

"Huh?"

"Is that a business call?"

"This is..."

"Go ahead and take it. You can come back afterward."

"Ah... th-then I'll excuse myself for a moment."

The person sitting across from me was the head of a major guild, so if anything, it would have been stranger if something like this didn't happen.

'As expected, someone this busy barely gets a moment's peace from phone calls. With a life like Seo Esther's, I wouldn't trade places with her even if you paid me.'

Ssskh.

It was only a brief moment while the Earthling stepped outside.

I quickly pulled out my phone and searched for the regulations concerning poison items in this country.

"Oh, this is it."

The search results brought up several online articles containing the keyword "reservoir."

"How on earth did Ahn Yoonseung manage to be born in a neighborhood full of so many strange people?"

To roughly summarize the reports, South Korea had apparently become particularly wary of "poison items" because of a certain incident...

"Fortunately, it looks like nobody was actually hurt in that case." ℴ

To clarify, the sale of [Hydra] items wasn't completely prohibited in the country.

However, after several incidents, the attribute itself had acquired a bad reputation. Ordinary people were said to cast disapproving looks at Hunters who relied on poison items.

On top of that, the Hunter Association closely monitored artifacts capable of continuously producing large quantities of lethal toxins, restricting their trade to prevent dangerous substances from accumulating within the country.

In an environment this hostile, who would willingly specialize in poison equipment?

"Because of the nature of a longsword, you inevitably deal damage to one target at a time inside Gates. Honestly, when it comes to hunting monsters, there are plenty of better options than [Hydra]."

No matter where you went in the universe, marketing was essential whenever money was involved.

But in the domestic market, collectors specializing in that particular attribute had already become rare.

"The customer base is far too narrow."

Either way, if we wanted the best possible profit, we'd have to sell it overseas.

I organized my thoughts and slipped my phone back into my pocket.

"Sorry! I'm really late, aren't I?"

At that exact moment, the guild master flung the door open and hurried back into the room.

"What is it?"

Hair that was always wavy, as though it received regular professional care.

Fair skin.

And, well, various other features.

It had only been a few seconds since she'd left, so naturally, nothing about her appearance could have changed much.

"What is it?"

But there was a subtle difference.

As soon as Seo Esther returned from taking that unknown call outside, a strangely altered expression appeared on her face.

"Ah, to continue where we left off, we'll reveal the [Hydra]'s stats exactly as Giryeo-ssi appraised them."

She was definitely troubled by something.

"And of course, I'll take care of distributing the proceeds on my end first, but you should also have an accountant on your side..."

More than that, a strange atmosphere seemed to settle over the room.

I was certain I'd experienced something like this before.

"Did you hear some bad news in the article you were reading outside?"

Could Kang Changho be responsible again?

By the way, the only time this woman, who was usually so cheerful, completely failed to manage her expression was when some flattering article about a certain someone appeared.

So I assumed something similar had happened again and immediately asked.

"Yes? An article? What article?"

"No. Never mind."

But my guess was slightly off.

'Looks like this time it isn't about that third S-rank.'

The Awakened sitting in the main seat widened her eyes as if to say, What nonsense are you talking about?

'Wait. But is this really something that should cause such an unfamiliar reaction?'

Then what had upset Esther today?

It wasn't because a reporter had contacted her.

And since she was making plenty of money as an active S-rank Hunter, it certainly couldn't have been because Korea Magic Tower had failed to pay some subcontractor.

"It's just that when Director Esther came back after taking that call, you looked upset."

"Ah, aah."

"I was simply curious about why you looked like that, so I brought it up."

I didn't bother beating around the bush and simply asked her directly.

"Oh my, this... I didn't mean to concern you."

Seo Esther reacted immediately.

Clearly, something really was going on.

"I've gone and acted awkwardly in front of a guest again."

"It's fine."

"I'd be grateful if you'd overlook it, but—"

Click.

Unable to continue without something to drink, Seo Esther hurriedly refilled her glass from a nearby water dispenser and quenched her thirst.

Once she returned to her seat, she hesitated for a moment.

But as I waited patiently, a subject far more interesting than any trivial guess suddenly emerged.

"Since we're talking about this now... actually, Giryeo-ssi, I once told you a bit of a lie."

"A lie?"

"Was it around the beginning of this year? Anyway, during our first field lesson, I kept getting distracted and looked upset. The reason back then was actually exactly the same as it is now."

Oh my.

So even during that winter training session—which I could barely remember anymore—she had actually been dealing with some kind of problem.

Then was that business about seeing an article on Kang Changho just an excuse?

The thought crossed my mind for a moment.

But the Earth woman sitting in front of me soon began explaining.

Of course, she admitted that seeing the former convict plastered all over the media had been irritating.

Still, the main reason for her emotional breakdown had apparently been something else entirely.

And the true nature of the issue that had dragged on for months was—

"A proposal? You mean... Hunter Esther, are you saying someone just proposed marriage to you?"

A marriage proposal.

The phrase was so completely outside my expectations that I was momentarily dumbfounded.

Yet even though the person involved didn't look happy in the slightest, from an alien's perspective, it was difficult not to feel at least a little hopeful.

'Someone like Esther is responsible, and at the very least she takes good care of the people she considers her own.'

For reference, the offspring of high-grade mutants also had a high probability of enduring the awakening process successfully.

'Rather than having more reckless, irresponsible types running around, it'd actually be reassuring if a proven mage like her started a family!'

At that moment, the mind of this body's original owner produced the unpleasant word "eugenics."

But I had no intention of looking down on ordinary people, so for now it was fine.

The only reason I viewed the situation positively was because of the other person's character.

'Compared to the past, you can't determine someone's superiority by magic alone anymore. This world has a surprising number of talented people who haven't awakened.'

Besides, there was no rule saying a sorcerer's child had to become a sorcerer.

A little later, I asked with a hint of expectation,

"So, are you going to get married?"

"Well, what am I supposed to do! Ugh! Just thinking about it makes my blood boil!"

"I'm sorry."

What came back was a thunderous, furious rebuke.

"Hmm."

To summarize what Seo Esther said next, the reason she'd been upset during the first half of the year was because of a certain conflict that had dragged on for quite some time.

"Anyway, to put it as simply as possible, there were a few situations recently that could've led to a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

The sequence of events she'd gone through could roughly be summarized as follows.

First.

An S-rank Awakened from overseas, whose face she barely knew, began occasionally contacting her in private after meeting the representative of Korea Magic Tower at some social gathering.

In other words, she'd made a new acquaintance.

Second.

They had maintained a casual relationship, exchanging the occasional "how have you been?" message.

Then, without warning, the foreign Awakened suggested that they meet with marriage in mind.

"To give some context from that S-rank's perspective, high-ranking Awakened have a hard time getting close to people as low-ranked as F-ranks. Since they tend to associate with others like themselves anyway, I suppose his reasoning was that we might as well try getting along with someone compatible..."

But by the third stage, the relationship between the two Awakened had deteriorated sharply.

The representative of [Korea Magic Tower] sitting in front of me had absolutely no intention of getting married.

"Phew."

To put it bluntly, Esther had casually rejected the Awakened's proposal.

But soon after she turned him down—

According to her additional explanation, ever since the early days of her awakening, a string of misfortunes had begun occurring around him...

"Misfortunes?"

"Yeah—well, from what I can tell, it was probably just one of those 'three years of bad luck' or something."

"His equipment that he used all the time suddenly broke. Then he tripped over dungeon terrain and fell, things like that... Wait, an S-rank Awakened?"

The streak of bad luck had begun almost immediately after the failed proposal.

And the person who had rejected him was none other than the world's foremost specialist in [Curse].

Considering all the circumstances, it appeared Seo Esther was currently suffering because of a particular misunderstanding.

"So the other party mistakenly thought you had cast a [Curse] on him."

"And he actually convinced himself that was true and started spreading false rumors throughout the Western Hunter community!"

"A false rumor?"

"He's telling people I go around tormenting anyone I don't like!"

It was certainly understandable that she would be upset.

Unfortunately, however, Esther wasn't exactly in a position to dismiss the malicious rumor without any difficulty.

"And the most frustrating part is that, honestly, half of this is my own karma."

"In what way?"

"Seriously, Giryeo-ssi... you already know everything, and yet you casually ask again."

At first, I had wondered what she meant.

But as the conversation deepened, I quickly began to understand.

According to her additional explanation, ever since awakening with the [Curse] ability, Esther had occasionally played tricks on people far more often than most realized...

"It's just a common stage in the growth process of novice mages."

Come to think of it, she might even have tried something like that on me once.

But I'd probably shrugged it off without noticing because I had fairly strong resistance.

Anyway, let's leave the past aside.

"But this time, I'm genuinely being wronged!"

"Because you didn't do it?"

"That's true, but more importantly, I never pull pranks that could seriously hurt someone."

"You just said you made Jeong Haseong fall over, didn't you?"

"No, wait, Giryeo-ssi. If an S-rank crashes into this company's lobby, which do you think is going to break—the S-rank or the lobby?"

Somehow, the woman—whose roots revealed a few strands of bright sky-blue hair—added this furiously.

Back in school, she'd apparently hated classmates who bullied others and had even smacked so-called delinquents with a metal pencil case.

But would she really torment someone and inflict pain on them simply because she'd received an unwanted confession?

That, roughly speaking, was the basis of Esther's defense.

'Besides, back in school, that guy probably would've gotten punched straight in the jaw. Logically speaking, some form of disciplinary action would've been justified.'

It didn't exactly sound like something to brag about...

In any case, all of this served as evidence that she was unusually fixated on doing what she considered right.

No wonder Esther seemed even more irritated by the current situation.

"Ah! If only I could borrow that [Justitia] while it's still intact... No, no. But honestly, when you think about it, how could anyone justify using equipment that expensive over such a petty misunderstanding? Right?"

Mutter, mutter.

After fuming for a while, the owner of Korea Magic Tower finally managed to calm her breathing.

"And anyway..."

What came next was the guild master's cautious remark.

"I originally planned to keep this personal matter from everyone else."

More precisely, it seemed she hadn't intended to tell me.

"From what I've heard, that S-rank is apparently going to attend this world artifact auction."

"Hmm."

"Well, you know... the self-important photographer who's had some friction with me."

"Yes."

"But just because I don't want to see one person, I can't dump this job on the already-busy Rank 1. At the same time, I can't exactly go alone into the middle of a group of Western S-ranks while all those nasty rumors are circulating..."

Sskh.

I straightened slightly from where I'd been leaning back against the sofa.

Then I chimed in after hearing Esther's story.

"Are you worried that if you go alone, you might get lynched?"

But the answer I received was—

"I don't know about getting lynched. I'm hesitating because the moment I see that bastard who spews garbage every time he opens his mouth, I feel like I might actually curse him."

True.

That was a frightening possibility in more ways than one.

South Korea had exactly four S-rank Hunters.

And if one of them was the leader, two were ex-convicts, and the last was retired...

Wouldn't that be a serious problem?