Chapter 196. Retirement (2)
At this moment, an image of an S-Class Hunter with a lazy face comes to mind.
If Esther were here right now, she would chirp in her characteristic bright tone, “Well, you could have come down earlier!”
“What, how did it come to this, why…!”
But regretting it now is pointless; the train has already left the station.
This is why one does not casually mess with Curse Mages in Alphauri.
Their vengeance is always passionate.
Persistent.
And it doesn’t stop until their enemy is completely destroyed.
*
Bubbling bubbling…
Clack.
A sunny morning in America’s largest city, New York.
Somewhere in the forest of blue and dark buildings, a young woman gazes out the window with a fresh cup of coffee in hand.
It’s quite early, yet in Bryant Park below, some pedestrians are already out enjoying a light walk.
The woman with golden bobbed hair watched the tourists or maybe Americans move like ants for a while.
Yawn.
An utterly monotonous morning routine just like that of office workers.
But one notable difference is that what she sipped wasn’t your usual cup of coffee but a hyper-caffeine drink specifically for Awakened.
Brooklyn Morgan quenched her dry throat with the steaming beverage while rolling her eyes.
In her other hand was always her new tablet PC.
[The leader of the hunting association in South Korea…….]
Yet today, the electronic newspaper contained quite the intriguing content.
While Brooklyn slept, a ruckus broke out in South Korea.
Go Byeong-do, the president of the Hunter Association, was being accused of embezzling funds by deceiving hunters.
Moreover, until now, the only Enchanter in Asia had been working under them with a rather lenient requirement, stating that as long as he could choose his priorities, he would comply.
When it became clear that President Go had even violated this minimal request—specifically hiding and publicly revealing enchant requests to suit his taste—the Enchanter declared a strike, and now citizens were even starting a movement demanding the president’s resignation.
Wow.
What a mess!
On an overseas news site, there was a photo of some elderly Korean bowing his head in apology at a press conference.
Scrolling down a bit revealed that even that apology was a lie, as a secondary recording had revealed him cursing Gu Seo-hyeong behind the scenes, which only intensified the situation.
“How did such an amusing event arise?”
Perhaps there was some infighting among politicians in that country?
Thus, Brooklyn could start this Wednesday with far more intrigue than usual.
In truth, the roots of all this lay within the Spectrum Guild, although she hadn’t caught on.
*
Beeep beep beep.
Beeep beep beep.
And then came a Thursday.
Hmm.
Jeong Ha-seong, the S-Class Hunter representing South Korea, scanned his phone with a bland expression.
[President of the Association☎]
While drying off from his shower, Ha-seong put the phone face down with indifference.
This indicated he had ignored a call he would have answered before it even rang twice.
And this, of course, would have driven a certain middle-aged man into a frenzy.
“Damn it! Now this bastard is trying to avoid my calls too?”
Huff.
Unlike last week, the atmosphere had become quite chaotic in a study in Seoul.
To cut to the chase.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for Go Byeong-do’s downfall!
Some Curse Mage burst the president’s hidden secrets and swayed public opinion, and amidst this, the Enchanter’s revelation proved to be a fatal blow, prompting voices within their ranks to call for his resignation.
How ridiculous.
Who would have thought that Awakened beings like them would resort to widespread media warfare instead of magic?
Moreover, in this incident, Go Byeong-do had effectively been dealt a one-sided blow with his hands and feet tied.
Esther had threatened to kill him with a skill if he announced his so-called justice, and Gu Seo-hyeong, whom he intended to use as a hostage, seemed to have picked up on his intentions and struck back like a wasp.
In some ways, Gu Seo-hyeong’s revelation left a more serious wound.
So the president hurriedly tried to silence the Enchanter, desperately running around.
[In front of the reporters, I declare that if this revelation leads to any disadvantage for our country’s Enchanters, I too will go on strike from that very day. Go ahead, reveal even a single letter of that person’s name! Am I just going to sit idly by? Seriously, I’m not even asking for a raise; is it reasonable to obstruct someone who simply wants to prioritize their life, everyone?]
However, this was made impossible as the guild master of the Korean Magic Tower stepped in to protect Seo-hyeong.
Tragic. Truly a tragic result.
After all, this is all due to that damned Awakening.
If that bizarre era of people using strange magic hadn’t arrived so suddenly, life’s absurdity wouldn’t have escalated to this level.
Ugh!
Desperate, Go Byeong-do attempted to contact someone—a Hunter with the good image of a national hero. With the hero’s help, even desperate public opinion might turn around in an instant.
But as you can see, Jeong Ha-seong is also deeply connected to ‘that Hunter,’ having already informed him of the entire situation and blocking the president’s negotiation attempts.
Esther, Jeong Ha-seong, and even the only Enchanter in Asia.
To make all these influential figures willingly sacrifice themselves to act is quite something.
What the hell…
At this point, isn’t Kim Gi-ryeo some sort of mental influencer?
The president thought fleetingly about how unfair this situation was.
In the end, he was merely deceived by flawed information from the Spectrum Guild, and now, due to a single mistake, he was cornered like this, making feelings of injustice well up in him.
Should he apologize to that Fourth S-Class now to change something?
But Go Byeong-do was determined not to kneel before that young man. He would rather lose power in disgrace than suffer such a cowardly end.
He still has plenty of strength remaining apart from being the president.
After all, in this world, money is everything.
He could let go of this power, and it wouldn’t mean his entire life would crumble.
Thus.
Ha.
Since resignation from the president’s position was already half-confirmed, Go Byeong-do resolved to splash mud on his opponent’s honor in a last-ditch effort.
He couldn’t bear to see that Hunter prancing around, basking in the joy of victory; it was a petty thirst for revenge.
.
.
.
Today is Saturday.
The weather’s a bit gloomy. Feels like humidity’s climbing too; is summer on its way?
Just like every other week, I wrapped up my training with Jeong Ha-seong and came out of the gym around 6 o’clock.
Standing in my usual spot, I checked briefly to see if the handling of President Byeong-do, which I entrusted to Esther, was progressing well.
Just then, someone approached me.
“Kim Gi-ryeo.”
“You’re here?”
The bodyguard I hired in exchange for a ten-year lifespan.
Since I recently ran into Alai’s overseas security, I had been calling this S-Class Hunter with me whenever I went out, fearing the president might pull another weird stunt.
“By the way, the rumors about us training together every weekend seem to be false, huh?”
“Really?”
“I’ve been watching the gym for a while, and only Jeong Ha-seong is using skills.”
Right after meeting, Kang Chang-ho launched a stalker-worthy comment.
“What’s actually happening here with the number one ranking?”
“I was just giving him a few pointers for a fee.”
“Pointers?”
“Well, various things…”
But I just shrugged it off.
I had no intention of hiding my schedule with Jeong Ha-seong anyway.
I simply said what I hoped would prevent someone’s criminal record from piling up. I obediently appeased Kang Chang-ho and shared some trivial conversation as well.
Hmm, so if I chip in, could I maybe hear some of those pointers too?
“Sorry, but that might be difficult for you, Hunter.”
“Why?”
“You’re already adjusting your magic power quite well. I’m not joking; there’s really nothing I could advise you on.”
“Oh really?”
“To be honest, if I could ask for money from you, I would have said so long ago.”
Then we arrived at the bodyguard’s private vehicle…
Hmm?
It should have been mundane, but something felt off as we reached home.
The alley was already a mess of illegal parking, and there were groups of Earthlings hanging around in front of my house today.
They seemed to be waiting for someone, fidgeting nervously.
Moreover, I noticed some of them with black microphones attached to their clothing, indicating this was definitely…
“Looks like reporters.”
Kang Chang-ho, gripping the wheel, provided the answer instead.
But whether they were reporters or not didn’t matter.
Returning through the back wouldn’t change the situation, so I decided to face the reporters head-on.
After a long day of training Jeong Ha-seong, I was tired and wanted to go home early.
“I’m here.”
“Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo!”
“Hunter!”
As I stepped out of the car towards the entrance, the reporters came rushing in.
I waved my hand as if to say they’d better spit out what they wanted to say quickly.
However, the questions that followed were quite interesting.
“I heard some news and came by for a moment. I’ve been told that the Enchanter who recently exposed President Go Byeong-do is actually a really close classmate of yours. Is that true?”
“Hem! Hunter! We just came from SBC. We received a tip-off that you’re instigating the Enchanter to alienate the association and use private enchant requests for personal gain. What do you think of this allegation?”
Go Byeong-do…
Even after exposing so many weaknesses, he’s not giving up and trying to drag me into the mud. Plus, this time he’s digging into the relationship between some S-Class and Gu Seo-hyeong.
Looking at the questions being tossed, it was easy to tell these reporters were firmly on the president’s side.
But there was no need to fear over such trivial matters. Had this been something I sparked alone, it might be one thing, but I had the solid backing of the guild master from the Korean Magic Tower.
Let’s leave the media battle to Esther, the Earthling. If left alone, that Curse Mage will handle it on their own.
I acknowledged lightly the truth about being schoolmates with Gu Seo-hyeong while firmly denying any other allegations, then gestured for them to let me pass to enter the building.
“Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo! Just one more question!”
However, one reporter among this crowd.
For some reason, there was one man whose face stuck vaguely in my memory, and he blocked the path without putting away his recorder.
Somehow, he looked familiar. Just as I was thinking that, the reporter spoke.
“Shockingly, it appears that you didn’t grow up in a regular household but rather in an orphanage. Is that true?”
I froze in my tracks upon hearing that.
“And moreover, according to the investigation……. even though you made a fortune earlier this year from the Siren raid, it seems you haven’t donated a single penny to the organization that raised you in place of your parents.”
The other reporters nearby had turned their heads toward that man long ago as he dropped his question.
The story revealing that the Fourth S-Class in Korea had actually been an orphan with nowhere to turn had certainly never hit the news before.
“Don’t you feel any shame in abandoning your orphanage classmates?”
The neatly slicked-back-haired reporter thrust a small microphone toward me.
And I remembered.
[‘Beasts’ without abilities? …The shocking remarks of the new S-Class.]
On that note, wasn’t this the journalist from the Yi family who had been most vocally writing negative pieces about me shortly after capturing ‘Unavoidable Malice’?
