Chapter 424

Therefore, Kim Giryeo ultimately chose not to use his ability.

At first, it was only a momentary hesitation, but the more he thought about it, the riskier the situation seemed. From several angles, it was a perfectly rational decision made by the alien after carefully weighing the pros and cons.

However, to the natives of this planet, it began to look rather strange.

'It must be hard. You've gained so much power, and now one wrong move could leave you with a criminal record...'

Of course, Kim Giryeo had overheard conversations like that ever since entering the building's lobby, and hearing them only made him more confident in his decision.

'Criminal record... I see.'

For humans, facial expressions were an important means of communication.

In other words, the people having those conversations had actually been smiling and joking lightly with one another.

The reason they could talk so casually about the retiree ending up with a criminal record was that, in reality, there were almost no cases where anyone was actually punished.

The mutants who had taken the lead in dealing with the Dungeon Shock phenomenon...

Moreover, when humanity had first encountered magical power, no formal licensing system had even existed.

Because of that history, the use of superpowers on Earth was generally tolerated as long as it was intended to help someone.

The course of history had naturally shaped that custom.

This was even more true when the use of an ability caused no harm to people or buildings.

It was an unwritten rule accepted throughout the world, and no amount of additional explanation would change that fact.

'Wait a second. Couldn't someone else put out the fire?'

“Yes?”

“I can't put out the fire. I told you, I can't use my ability right now.”

Kim Giryeo had no idea where the legal boundaries of Earth humans actually lay.

After all, he had only lived here for around three years, so in a way, it was only natural.

Mumble, mumble.

Moreover, there was no way he could reveal in front of all these people that he was essentially a newborn who had only recently reincarnated...

“What did he say?”

“Ability? Did he say he can't use it?”

“What's that Awakener doing?”

“He's just waving his hands around.”

“Someone tell him to use his superpower.”

A little later, Kim Giryeo honestly explained that he could not use his powers because he was unlicensed.

Yet even after that explanation, the atmosphere at the scene remained tense and unsettled.

Remarks followed, such as, 'It's not like you're going to drown someone with the water, so just use it already,' and, 'Who's going to punish you over something this trivial? Stop making such a fuss.'

'Hmm.'

Even after hearing the advice of those around him, Kim Giryeo still refrained from using his ability.

As a soul that could never naturally blend into human society, a persistent doubt remained deep inside him.

'How am I supposed to believe everything these foreigners are telling me?'

Someone watched the situation without showing even the slightest change in expression.

'Everyone's confidently saying there's no problem, but what if some malicious citizen reports me to the Korean Hunter Association and things get blown out of proportion?'

On the surface, he appeared perfectly calm, but at that moment, considerable unease was stirring inside Kim Giryeo.

'It's not like there was a bombing or anything. I'll have to deal with this some other way...'

So, if he wanted to reduce the risk as much as possible, this was the best choice.

“Giryeo-ssi?”

Once he returned to familiar South Korea, he decided he would take a closer look at the officially permitted scope of ability use.

The blond man abruptly headed down a nearby corridor, bent down, and picked something up.

A powder fire extinguisher, complete with an extremely straightforward, easy-to-understand instruction diagram.

Ciiik.

For reference, this Korean man, who began extinguishing the fire with complete composure, was an S-class water-type superpower user—one of only four in the entire world.

Ciiik.

Nevertheless, Kim Giryeo ignored that fact and relied entirely on the power of modern equipment.

'Seriously, you people make such useful things, so why do you keep looking for magic and making a fuss?'

He knew that all of this might look strange.

Still, it was better than getting dragged into some legal dispute.

'Korea, you don't have to worry about adding another convict to your statistics! Whatever I do, I won't leave any evidence behind.'

At last, the area fell silent.

Since he had already cleaned up an accident he had not even caused in the first place, no one could complain to the Korean anymore.

“Excuse me.”

“Uh, huh? Yes?”

“As someone with an appraisal skill, let me give you one final piece of advice.”

With that, he had truly extinguished every urgent fire.

Kim Giryeo did not forget to say one last thing before leaving.

“When you have that greatsword out, try not to let any other items get too close to it...”

“D, do you mean items aren't supposed to come into contact with each other?”

“It's just a piece of equipment-management knowledge I happened to pick up.”

It was already impressive enough that he had subdued a powerful [Legendary]-grade piece of equipment in a single attempt, but now, completely out of nowhere, he had offered information that could not be obtained anywhere else.

“T, thank you!”

The eyes of the Imabari guild members sparkled.

“Thank you very much, Kim Giryeo-ssi.”

“By the way, would you mind telling me how you managed to calm this sword...?”

“Yes, I can't tell you. I... don't really understand the principle myself.”

“Y, yes?”

“I don't know anything...”

Toward the end of the conversation, a few remarks left everyone rather confused, but that was not much of a problem either.

'Let's get out of here.'

Since he had safely finished playing firefighter, he thought he could finally step away and focus on properly preparing for the [Hydra] auction...

'Hmm?'

Just as he hurried away from the lobby, where everyone was casting suspicious glances in his direction, Kim Giryeo heard an unexpected remark from an Awakener named Esther.

“As expected of you, Giryeo-ssi. You're really smart!”

Judging from the context, she seemed to be complimenting him for what had just happened...

'It would make sense if she were praising my magical power, but why is she talking about intelligence at a time like this?'

Kim Giryeo tilted his head slightly and listened carefully.

But as she continued speaking, words he had never imagined began filling the air.

“First of all, I never thought you'd deteriorated to the point where you couldn't even produce a little water, Giryeo-ssi.”

“Yes, well.”

“If your condition were really that bad, you wouldn't have answered my call in the first place. You would've stayed focused on recovering your stamina.”

“Logically speaking, that's true.”

“But today, you deliberately emphasized that you weren't licensed, and in the end, you stubbornly kept your skill hidden...”

'Huh?'

They both knew perfectly well that his supernatural abilities were functioning normally.

Yet because he had nevertheless pulled out a powder fire extinguisher and used that instead, Esther had apparently arrived at a completely different conclusion.

“You noticed right away that those rumors were spreading and started using them to your advantage, didn't you?”

In a word, she was direct.

The man on the receiving end of that statement did not show the slightest expression.

“Well, it's obvious that an S-class hunter is strong, so there isn't really any reason for you to go around showing it off, is there?”

'Huh?'

“Unless your goal is to expand your influence like mine, being treated as some retired recluse would probably be far less troublesome.”

'Hmm.'

“On the surface, you really do look like someone who doesn't care about anything in the world, but whenever it actually matters, you know exactly how to use public opinion to your advantage. Honestly, I'm always impressed by you.”

But the soul dwelling inside that corpse was, at that moment, more bewildered than anyone else.

That was because the woman in front of him was describing a story completely different from reality.

'What are you talking about?'

However, regardless of what the alien was feeling, the human's nonsense continued for quite some time.

“Judging from the situation, that carpet fire would've been one of those cases where you were completely exempt from liability even without a license.”

Unlicensed Awakened frequently ended up on the front pages of newspapers, and yet here he was being praised for restraining his power—for the sake of improving the public image of mutants, no less...

'Damn it. This conversation keeps going, but there are only a few sentences I can actually understand.'

The blond alien froze like ice, unable to formulate a proper response.

'What am I supposed to do?'

But what would change if he simply stood there, silently turning the matter over in his head?

Kim Giryeo reached °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° a decision in an instant.

'There's no reason for me to reveal that the only reason I stayed quiet was because I was afraid of getting penalized by the Association.'

He absolutely did not want to make it obvious that he was an alien who did not even understand a single unwritten rule...

Besides, just as Esther had said, now that he had regained his strength, there was no real danger in pretending to be an ordinary human.

The more people underestimated the great mage—and the more that false impression encouraged them to recklessly pick a fight with him—the more advantageous it actually became.

'Besides, if I want to make a comeback while attracting as little criticism as possible, I'll have to pay close attention to this new theory.'

At last, he reached a conclusion worthy of an Alphauri.

Kim Giryeo decided not to correct the human's misunderstanding and dealt with the situation through silence alone.

Nod!

At times like this, the appearance of the body he had taken over proved remarkably useful.

All he had to do was tilt his head with a little composure, and he immediately looked like a man acting with deliberate purpose.

'Anyway, thanks to the trust I've built up so far, everything I do gets interpreted in a positive light.'

Without the slightest trace of guilt, Kim Giryeo lifted his head as though nothing were wrong.

Having already dealt with the rampaging Legendary weapon in impressive fashion, he thought he could finally relax and look around the VIP private rooms.

'Hmm.'

But around that time, another concern suddenly surfaced in his mind.

'Come to think of it...'

That fire extinguisher incident from earlier could be interpreted in all sorts of ways depending on one's perspective.

'What would happen if something that couldn't possibly be explained by human physiology was discovered inside this building?'

He had already been wandering around with Esther for quite a while.

'I'll need to stop by the restroom soon, or people might start getting suspicious.'

Ssshk.

Kim Giryeo raised his phone and checked how much time had passed.

Just as the thought that had occurred to him suggested, he needed to move around periodically in order to maintain the appearance of being a native of this planet.

After all, waste disposal could easily be handled with one of his spells, but there was no reason to deliberately create unnecessary trouble.

“Hunter Esther...”

“Yes?”

“I'll just quickly use the restroom too...”

“Ah! Yes! Go ahead.”

He was not actually going there to relieve himself anyway, so he figured he might as well wash his hands while he was there.

Glancing at the area around his wrist, where powder from the fire extinguisher had sprayed onto him, Kim Giryeo headed toward a nearby restroom.

Step, step, step.

But just as he was about to approach the sink, that very situation occurred.

'Huh?'

S-rank magical power, according to the classification system of a certain planet.

A class with a composition slightly different from the one Gu Seohyeong used.

And, on top of that, several other distinctive features.

'A foreign Awakener.'

With his head turned toward the mirror, Kim Giryeo could just barely make out the person's silhouette.

Moreover, Esther had shown him a photograph of the man while they were traveling by plane, so he recognized the face.

'To be precise, that's the hunter who supposedly had a falling-out with Esther!'

The man who had just entered the restroom was none other than the suitor in question.

'Damn it. How am I supposed to distinguish this tiny trace of primitive magic from someone I've never even met before?'

Until shortly before arriving at this auction, he had clearly intended to mediate the situation objectively, like an elder—or, more accurately, extremely old—mage...

But the timing could not have been worse.

Kim Giryeo had come here intending to pass himself off as an ordinary human, so suddenly encountering the real form of another mammalian individual indoors was bound to throw him off for a moment.

'So... how are terrestrial creatures supposed to breathe naturally?'

It was because of such a trivial awkwardness that the two of them were unable to carry on a proper conversation.