Chapter 419

'What are we going to do about this?'

Esther had already admitted that she would likely attack the moment she saw a rival of her own kind. I listened to the guild representative's explanation and slowly considered the situation.

'It'd be nice if she had someone by her side to stop her from doing anything reckless.'

The first idea that came to mind was almost a joke: I should put a proper brake on that primitive sorcerer. But the more I thought about it, the more serious the problem seemed.

'Minor curses—like making someone stub their toe on a doorframe or sneeze for a moment—barely leave any magical traces.'

In any case, the people of this planet couldn't properly interpret mana, even when a human body was overflowing with it.

'Modern technology can't properly detect magic. Which means Esther can't prove her innocence either...'

Was this one of the rare hardships unique to [Curse] Awakened individuals?

'Besides, the person who supposedly proposed marriage must feel just as wronged. Still, from Esther's perspective, it would certainly feel like she'd been falsely accused.'

Of course, curse-users being shunned was nothing new, but I couldn't simply ignore what this Earthling was going through.

'There really is a chance this could turn violent.'

Because by now, that woman, Seo Esther, had entered the circle of people I considered acquaintances.

'Would it be dangerous to send her abroad alone?'

Honestly, I didn't want to see another Earthling I was close to get hurt. Even if the Korea Magic Tower assigned guards to her, there was no way ordinary escorts could match an S-rank. And naturally, Seo Esther's sharp, prickly personality only made things more complicated.

“Hmm.”

“What’s wrong?”

I sank into thought, clasping my hands together inside the [Midnight Gloves]. But my deliberation lasted only a moment.

“Then should I accompany you to the auction venue this time as well?”

“Yes?”

Anyway, I still hadn't returned to the industry. What difference would it make if an unemployed man like me went abroad for a day or two?

“H, huh?”

I suggested going with her to the venue where all the top-ranking Western hunters would gather. At that, Esther looked completely taken aback.

“N, no. Wait, I absolutely didn't mean it that way.”

“Is that so?”

“I only explained the situation because you seemed curious about what had happened, Giryeo-ssi. Partly because I wanted to vent, too.”

Well, if someone who had stepped down from an S-rank hunter position was suddenly spotted overseas looking perfectly fine, it was bound to make the news.

'The Korea Magic Tower guild master was always quite careful about managing her public image.'

It wasn't hard to understand why she was reluctant to accompany me. Still, rather than worrying about criticism, I wanted to focus on preventing any possible danger.

“I’ll still accompany you to the auction. I have some business there anyway.”

“Are you planning to sell the original [Hydra] now that it’s become unusable as well?”

Ah. Of course, having lost my hunting qualifications created certain complications for me, but that was something I could deal with later.

“No. It’s not that, but personal matters don't really need to be explained in detail, do they?”

“What did you say?”

“I have a separate qualification that lets me enter the auction market.”

Qualification.

In fact, it was a word I had completely forgotten until this very moment. But when I thought about it carefully, ever since the beginning of this reincarnation, I had possessed another kind of responsibility—or title.

Possessor of Appraisal Skills.

I had carelessly registered that fact on my Hunter license, and it had caused me trouble in the past.

Tak, tak.

I confidently pointed at myself.

“So just let me act as an appraiser this once and take me along with your eyes closed.”

“M, me?”

“Anyway, [Hydra] is an extremely expensive item, so I wanted to see the auction in person. What if you went abroad and got scammed because of bad luck?”

“Ahem.”

At that, Esther's expression turned serious. Earlier, she had said that she hadn't intended to look for a companion, but in truth, she probably felt more at ease having an S-rank ally accompany her.

“If you put it that way, Giryeo-ssi......”

And so, our next destination was decided.

'If possible, I should also try to clear up the misunderstanding between Esther and that foreigner.'

I briefly went out with the Korea Magic Tower's representative to sell the items.

“Just a moment.”

But just as we had exchanged our farewells, agreed that the tutoring would resume as usual, and I thought there was nothing more to discuss—

“But, by the way, are you planning to go to Switzerland dressed like that?”

“Yes? My clothes?”

Esther narrowed her eyes and began staring at me. She seemed to be examining the sleeves and torso of the shirt I was wearing.

“And on top of that, why does the suit I bought to fit you perfectly already look so baggy...”

Apparently, she was asking why my clothes had become so loose.

'Since I'm an alien and all, I probably shouldn't casually use the word ‘diet,’ right?'

Fortunately, Esther didn't pry too deeply into my change in weight. She merely suggested in a quiet voice that we buy some simple clothes before leaving the country.

***

Southern Switzerland.

Instead of the historic traces typical of long-established cities, what spread before us was a modern landscape that wasn't particularly suited for sightseeing.

Unexpectedly, the area had undergone redevelopment after a major dungeon break occurred there a year ago.

“Ugh, why is it already this hot?”

And now, a strange energy was beginning to gather in this district, which was still under construction.

“I carved time out of my ridiculously busy schedule to come here. If I don't get an Epic-grade Ice-attribute item this time, I'll bite my tongue!”

An S-rank hunter was an extremely rare asset, usually numbering fewer than ten in any given country. But there was no guarantee that equipment appearing within a country's borders would perfectly suit the hunter who obtained it.

This event had been specially arranged so that people could trade Epic-grade artifacts they couldn't use for ones they actually needed.

And because equipment from otherworldly realms possessing unprecedented power was expected to circulate here, the caliber of the attendees was naturally extraordinary.

Not only A-rank hunters, but even the elusive S-ranks could be spotted simply by looking around.

“Dungeon artifacts really are easier to understand after seeing them once in person than after hearing a hundred explanations. Maybe that's why so many Awakened came all the way here.”

“Anyway, since the entire point is to protect the items, the sellers probably wouldn't want to use proxies, right?”

Meanwhile, idle conversation began spreading among the gathered Western powerhouses.

Until recently, no new S-rank Gates had appeared anywhere in the world, so there wasn't much for them to analyze in terms of work. As a result, hunters from various countries gradually began paying attention even to trivial gossip.

“In that case, does that mean Ms. Esther, who's selling the Epic-grade longsword, came here personally too?”

After all, regardless of era or culture, other people's love lives had always been fascinating.

[Anonymous Bulletin Board]

Title: But honestly, doesn't it seem like KGRyeo was praised way too much...??

Content: He's famous for catching lizards and stuff—he even ended up with nicknames like “Imoogi Killer”—but how many Gates did he actually clear? Even during the year our national hero was on leave, I think that hero still killed more monsters than Giryeo did in all his hunts combined...

If dozens of hunters had needed to rush in just to barely capture him, at least it would've shown the full scale of South Korea's capabilities, so... well.

Occasionally, posts about him still appeared, but even those tended to be negative.

Modern hunters had an image somewhat similar to firefighters. Whenever the nation was in danger, they were expected to put themselves at risk to protect it. Even if money was involved, they still contributed to public safety while getting covered in dirt and grime in the process.

However, S-rank hunters were often viewed as people who had “gained their elevated status without effort,” and so the general public frequently looked upon them unfavorably.

“By the way, speaking of Korea, I heard one of their S-rank hunters retired recently, right?”

“Isn't that something that almost never happens?”

Moreover, although he barely drew attention from others in the same profession, whenever the subject did come up, the conclusions were always more or less the same.

“Returning your license must come with quite a few inconveniences.”

“Well, I suppose even hunters can retire.”

“Most importantly, a hunter's legal immunity disappears completely. Even if you accidentally break a single paving stone while walking down the street, it becomes an aggravated offense.”

“Huh? Really?”

The foreign hunters chatted as they wandered around the venue.

“And all the high-grade equipment they'd accumulated up to that point would lose its authorization too. They wouldn't be allowed to carry or wear any of it carelessly.”

“Now that you mention it, that's true. Then why did that Korean specifically choose to retire? He could've just quietly reduced his activity without any problem.”

“Hmm.”

“S-rank Gates don't appear all the time anyway. It's much easier for us to maintain our licenses than it is for lower ranks.”

That was how they interpreted the unusual phenomenon of an S-rank hunter resigning.

“Maybe it was mental strain or some physical condition. Perhaps hunting became completely impossible for him, so he had no other choice?”

“Aha~”

After all that discussion, the person who had gone as far as retirement was eventually branded as a “has-been.”

“S-rank hunters rarely end up in that kind of situation, but weaker Awakened do sometimes lose access to their abilities entirely.”

“They'll say things like, ‘I can't use my skills because of trauma,’ or whatever.”

“It must be difficult either way. With that much strength, even one mistake could leave you with a criminal record.”

But was there really any reason to keep talking about someone who had already stepped away from the public eye?

The two people walking across the marble floor exchanged a brief glance and fell silent.

And at that very moment, near the entrance to the building, a blond-haired man turned his head.

'If I use my power recklessly, I'll be criminally punished....'

A superhuman ability that allowed him to overhear human voices from a vast distance, even from slightly different floors where they couldn't so much as see one another's shadows.

In other words, the soul of an archmage, surpassing even an S-rank.

'Huh?'

Kim Giryeo.

'Come to think of it, they're right. Since I returned my license, I'm not supposed to use magic during peacetime, am I?'

He had appeared here as an appraiser for the Korea Magic Tower Guild.

'Then I'd better send Choi Jin a separate message later. Surely I haven't been casually using skills on all those corpses this whole time, right?'

To be precise, the very person they had suspected of becoming useless due to physical problems had appeared in this very place.