Chapter 421

“Oho.”

That artifact would make excellent material.

When that unexpected thought crossed his mind, Kim Giryeo was quietly surprised. There was no need to struggle from the basics. If he simply dismantled a mass-produced item already circulating on the market, the job could be finished in no time.

A shortcut to making a golem.

It was such a simple idea that he wondered why he hadn't thought of it sooner.

So, what should he do next?

“If I extract the core from a legendary weapon and make a soldier out of it, the finished product wouldn't be just some ordinary grunt.”

The blond man fell into thought for a moment.

“I could produce plenty of champion-grade units and use them sparingly.”

The dismantling plan seemed far too feasible to dismiss as mere wishful thinking.

However, once again, the problem came down to money...

“That's even more serious than the [Infinite Power Core] situation, isn't it?”

In a capitalist society like this one, most things could naturally be exchanged for money—but legendary artifacts were something even the richest of the rich couldn't easily obtain.

“Calling them rare doesn't even begin to describe how precious they are.”

Besides, Kim Giryeo was practically broke.

To an ordinary office worker, calling someone with billions of won in the bank “broke” would sound absurd enough to make their blood pressure rise. But among S-rank Awakeners, he really did fall within the bottom 10% in terms of assets, so it wasn't exactly an inaccurate statement.

“The world really is filthy.”

So buying the item by simply throwing money at it was already out of the question.

“There’s always someone above you in this world, after all.”

But that didn't mean he could pick a fight with the Japanese hunters standing in front of him and seize the greatsword by force.

There was no need to spell out why.

“Because they aren't gate monsters.”

If the opponent had been some kind of monstrous creature, looting would have been completely unrestricted...

“It's a shame, but there's nothing I can do.”

Of course, Kim Giryeo still remembered the events of the [Kagoshima Black Dragon Raid] quite clearly.

However, right now just happened to be a period when a certain individual's sensitivity was at its peak.

“Even those aggressive primitive animals are, in the end, living creatures their caretakers diligently fed and raised.”

To explain, the alien had come to feel sympathy for the human race because of the Ahn Yoonseung incident.

“And when they go home, they might even be greeted with something like, ‘My precious baby,’ and welcomed warmly... I suppose I should be generous and let them live, just this once.”

Honestly, even that was closer to selfishness.

In any case, he had no intention of robbing the Earthlings.

“Uh, um.”

And although they couldn't possibly know the alien's true intentions, the subtle glances from the blond young man unknowingly put the other party under pressure.

“Then, I hope today's auction goes well for you.”

“O, good luck with the results! It was a real pleasure meeting you.”

Soon afterward, the Japanese hunters hurriedly wrapped up the conversation.

They nodded excessively, almost to an absurd degree, then quickly left the area.

“Is there something urgent?”

But even this brief encounter had been worthwhile.

“Judging roughly from their reactions, it seems the ridiculous gossip about me hasn't reached East Asia after all.”

“That's fortunate.”

“The Japanese hunters seem completely uninterested in me.”

Before long, Kim Giryeo found himself alone with Esther.

The two stood quietly in thought near a corner of the enormous building.

“Attitude, huh.”

Until now, he had thought it was merely his imagination, but after their conversation, he realized that something really was off.

“Now that you mention it, that's definitely true.”

For example, consider this.

The brown-haired hunter who had just passed by maintained a stable flow of magical energy, whereas the people who appeared to be European hunters did not seem nearly as relaxed.

“Their eyes are facing forward, but it feels like part of their attention is focused on us.”

It was only a vague impression.

There was no scientific basis supporting that suspicion either.

“Earthlings must have some instinctive way of noticing when they're being watched. And Seo Esther, being naturally perceptive, seems to have picked up on this atmosphere quickly.”

Could this be the fate of predators who no longer needed to watch their surroundings?

Kim Giryeo and the Korea Magic Tower Guild Master continued to experience the obvious gazes of foreign hunters several more times afterward.

Still, it had not developed into a serious problem.

“More importantly, the person Esther was arguing with still hasn't arrived.”

Besides, the foreigners' sidelong glances weren't solely because of suspicions involving a curse.

“Oh, it's Kim, Kim.

An S-rank hunter I haven't seen in a long time.

Didn't that Kim retire recently?

I can hear everything through the translator. You guys...”

For reference, this building handled high-concentration mana resources, so vulnerable individuals were fundamentally restricted from entering.

In other words, most of the people moving around inside were relatively healthy young adults.

Therefore, Seo Esther didn't bother awkwardly suppressing her mana, and thanks to the sheer pressure of her presence, no one dared approach recklessly...

“B, because of me, it seems like Giryeo-ssi is drawing attention too. What should we do? I'm really sorry.”

“No. It's fine.”

Kim Giryeo was receiving so much attention that it almost felt prickly.

He had completely forgotten about it until now, but with the subject of the recently retired hunter suddenly appearing right in front of them, everyone naturally took notice.

“No matter how you look at it, this isn't Hunter Esther's fault.”

But Seo Esther still seemed to feel that she had something to apologize for.

After hesitating, she brought up something else.

“That's not all. Actually, while Giryeo-ssi was taking a break, media outlets in various countries even criticized me for buying clothes for you...”

“Criticized you? Just for buying clothes for me?”

The blond man blinked rapidly, reacting as though he were hearing this for the first time.

His mind had been scattered lately, so news like this felt completely unfamiliar.

“Anyway, why are humans so obsessed with romance?”

That remark didn't come from Kim Giryeo.

It was more like a lament, spoken in an utterly detached tone by the purple-haired woman.

“Hunter-nim. What are you suddenly talking about...”

“To get straight to the point, rumors questioning the relationship between two S-rank hunters have been circulating widely again recently.”

“Who and who?”

“Kim Giryeo-ssi and me!”

“Ah~”

“Ah, what do you mean by that? Don't you understand how serious this situation is?”

The conversation had started as a complaint, but her tone gradually became more irritated.

“I only bought you some clothes. I was worried I'd end up seeing something ridiculous again, like that chicken restaurant hoodie!”

“Ridiculous... was it really that bad...?”

“Besides, it's perfectly normal for colleagues in the same industry to exchange gifts. So why did Jung Haseong's health supplement package go completely unnoticed while everyone made a fuss only about me!”

“Are you upset because people are associating you with me?”

But at that moment, the woman who had been talking nonstop fell silent after the alien said that.

“What...”

During that brief pause, the white noise of tourists talking filtered through, and it almost felt as though Esther's thoughts themselves could faintly be heard.

“That's not it.”

The silence didn't last long.

“Just being together causes a commotion. I was simply upset, frustrated, and sorry about all this noise. I have absolutely no problem with you personally.”

“I see.”

Kim Giryeo listened to her explanation and thought.

Of course, psychologically speaking, it was understandable why she had become angry, but that didn't exactly justify lashing out at humanity as a whole.

“But then again, maybe it's precisely because there's so much interest in romance that animals have been able to reproduce successfully and preserve their lineages!”

A slight obsession with romance wasn't necessarily such a bad trait, was it?

An Alpha soul, casually thinking that this wasn't a problem concerning his own species, voiced a lighthearted opinion.

Seo Esther did not react indifferently.

“Reproduction.”

She merely repeated the word, one that rarely came up in ordinary conversation.

“Giryeo-ssi is T, right?”

“What?”

“No, it's nothing. It was just something that used to be popular.”

One Awakened tilted his head.

“But at this point, I have to ask—aren't you, our retired hunter, bothered at all by rumors involving someone completely unrelated...?”

It was a very cautious question.

“There's nothing for me to be bothered about.”

But the alien answered without hesitation.

Back when he had been F-rank, every day had been filled with anxiety that his fraud might be exposed.

But no matter how he chose his words, there was ultimately only one way to express his opinion.

“You don't need to worry about that.”

Some people were born incapable of worrying about romantic relationships.

“I have no intention of marrying anyone... no, to be precise, I'm in a position where I shouldn't even be thinking about something like that.”

The remark clearly hinted at his origins in a binary star system, but Kim Giryeo continued anyway, intending to reassure the cursed sorcerer.

“Honestly, discussions like that are meaningless when it comes to me. So really, don't worry about it at all.”

But the problem was the person listening.

She had personally witnessed her compatriot coughing up blood inside the [Four Days and One Second] gate, and she was also aware of various leaked pieces of hospital-related personal information.

She simply hadn't brought those matters up because doing so would trouble the person involved.

The Korea Magic Tower Guild Master was fully aware of the lung problems afflicting the man standing before her.

Therefore...

'He's saying he has no intention of marrying at all?'

Within just a few seconds, another misunderstanding was born.

“N, no! Kim Giryeo-ssi! Why are you being so pessimistic about yourself again?”

To an Earthling, his words sounded like, 'I'm unhealthy, so I won't date.'

“Yes? Pessimistic?”

“Cheer up! Don't ever think like that. You absolutely deserve to have a romantic life! I just don't understand—why are you giving up as though you've already lived your whole life?”

“Huh.”

“Life really is unpredictable. Besides, you're far too remarkable to belittle yourself like that, Giryeo-ssi.”

“Oh, really?”

“At this point, you're practically perfect husband material. Wealthy, S-rank, good-looking... anyway, just don't ever give up on yourself.”

It seemed as though another word had nearly slipped out, only to be cut off halfway.

This happened just as the blond alien began to feel subtly unsettled by Earth's peculiar way of speaking.

“But it's a little funny—after lecturing you so urgently, I don't plan on getting married either.”

He paused.

This time, the alien looked somewhat sulky in response.

Of course, he was only thinking.

'Even Director Esther wasn't planning to get married? Why?'

A single plaintive question echoed in his mind, carrying a faint trace of distress.

In response, the Korea Magic Tower Guild Master answered.

“Well, it's because I'm really busy.”

“Ah.”

“Honestly, I don't think I'll have the time or energy to pay attention to something like that for quite a while.”

The reason she gave was so common that, if the entire population were surveyed, it would probably account for around 10%.

“Right. I'd be grateful if I could form a family, but honestly, I never had very high expectations from the beginning.”

At that moment, Kim Giryeo thought that it wasn't particularly unusual for a curse-user to remain unmarried.

On the contrary, if someone rushed into marriage and ended up divorcing, that was when truly interesting events would begin...

Therefore, the cursed individual's stated intention was practically life-saving.

“What a shame.”

Honestly, the voice in his soul was telling him to sit Esther down and actively encourage her to pursue romance.

But somehow...

Some nagging feeling kept rising inside him, like a black-haired official quietly worrying that he really shouldn't do that.