Chapter 350. Bunker (4)
That wraps things up.
After a long series of threats, I successfully handed over the revised [Knight’s Pact] to him.
Now, Andy Oliver is honored as a faithful servant of aliens.
With a clean conscience.
Without doing anything bad.
Of course, I did exclude the ones who were friends with that creature from the constraint of not harming others.
He must completely dismantle the organization he built himself. Plus, he has to keep the secret we share. And that’s that.
‘Hmm.’
Moreover, even if issues arise from Cheongchun Guild, the only loophole in this contract, I now have the power to deal with it.
‘From now on, I really won’t have to worry about worldly matters. I just need Korea, where I’m going to live from now on, to be a bit quieter!’
The immediate worries were over.
“Andy Oliver. So, this is my last question.”
“Ah, yes. Sure…”
“Is it true that the company Pixis…… has good technology, hence all these rumors?”
“Excuse me?”
“Your company. Do you actually torture aliens to create translators?”
If that’s the case, then only a final curiosity remains to be resolved.
“Ah, no. Ha. I understand what kind of joke that is. But the reason Pixis hears such stories is simply that I put in the effort.”
“So it was just technical talent.”
“If I could just dissect aliens to get there, I would’ve done it right away. Development is such a hard and annoying task, you know?”
SPLAT!
“AHHH! Why…?!”
At least all questions regarding Andy Oliver have been clarified.
So, I left the mammal who got slapped and jawed around, and returned to the entrance normally.
.
.
.
But to see such a scene upon my return.
‘Yikes.’
A pile of people were collapsed, and amidst them lay a bloody mess of a face.
“Kang Hunter…”
No, come to think of it, I had clearly told him to run away at an appropriate time.
Why was that driver keeping his position even to this extent?
“Have you been blocking the entrance all this time?”
“You told me to.”
“When did you untransform?”
“Well, since everyone was calling my name and rushing at me. I figured my identity was exposed anyway, so I just released it. It’s uncomfortable to move like this.”
Drip. Drip.
The bodily fluid that maintained homeostasis usually becomes no more than waste when spilled outside.
Kang Chang-ho gestured lightly in a state opposite to his usual hair color.
And in that state, he explained how he had really done his best to ensure no one left this place.
His efforts were clearly visible even to the naked eye.
‘Now this is impressive in its own way.’
Though my intervention made the Awakened escape, it seemed he had engaged in intense combat with psychics for a moment.
Surprisingly, he hadn’t shed a drop of blood himself.
“I was just trying to subdue them without anyone getting hurt. But there were so many. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have accidentally torn an artery.”
“Ah… so that’s why there was blood.”
“Glad I brought the potions.”
To think he was trying to keep his promise to the point of getting so filthy.
Looking at the messy state of the mammal, I felt mixed emotions.
‘I just gave him a reasonable task to keep him at a distance. Showing up like this is honestly a bit pitiful.’
So, despite my guilty conscience,
“Kang Chang-ho Hunter, I have a question…”
“What is it?”
“As I was talking with the business owner here, some things came up…”
Business is business, and personal is personal.
“I’m just asking in case. Are you part of Cheongchun Guild?”
I steeled myself and posed the question.
It was a bonus to focus on the flow of his magic power just in case.
But the answer that followed was so straightforward it nearly drained me of energy.
“?”
“…?”
“Are you asking if I’m from Chuncheon Guild?”
“No. I mean Cheongchun.”
What the hell? What kind of idiot is this guy?
“Ah, Cheongchun. That… the place in Asia with a branch, the one I used to chat with.”
“Yes, yes.”
“I don’t quite know how this question came up. But, you could easily tell from my usual schedule, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a freelance hunter.”
So what am I even saying to a guy like him?
Even without using an advanced lie detector, I could be sure of this much.
Kang Chang-ho spoke the truth with 100% certainty.
Most importantly, his mana flow had not changed at all.
‘That means he’s not tense.’
Moreover, knowing about the chatroom yet not knowing Cheongchun’s location? I also heard a bit about it even before coming to America.
– This much should be enough, right? Mr. Kim Hunter asked me to find out about the ultimate decision-maker behind the Beast incident, but I can’t be expected to investigate every single tiny detail. You can’t wait for several more years either.
So, the real question is, should I suspect the informant from the underworld that Kang Chang-ho supposedly hired?
‘If that person is involved, chasing them down would be difficult. Even if I tried to ask where they live after struggling to learn the internet, there’s no way they’d answer.’
But still, this topic wasn’t urgent.
It wouldn’t sit right to keep someone who’s covered in dirt and filth standing in the same spot.
Considering the various circumstances, it seems better to let Cheongchun wait to get caught in the net (Gate) rather than trying to catch them.
Above all, I was impressed by how firmly the other party kept their promise. So, I decided to hasten my return home.
*
And I returned to my beloved Korea.
“……”
Rattle.
For reference, the hair dropping out of the car was blue, not blonde.
Two Koreans finished their business and safely returned (illegally) to the country.
Now, the only thing left to sort out was the alibi created using the Gate.
“Anyone who has come in yet?”
“No one.”
The third S-Class Hunter of Korea.
Kang Chang-ho immediately closed off the high-level Gate he had caught in Gyeongsangnam-do.
And after wrapping that up, he moved by passenger car.
[15XX-XXXX]
An 8-digit specific number.
It was the contact information for the Korean Hunter Association.
As soon as Kang Chang-ho saw the number pop up on his phone, he casually ignored it.
“Hmm?”
But, having no plausible excuse for being in the middle of driving,
He soon arrived near the Seoul Tollgate.
Around this time, a familiar Hunter stopped him.
“Kang Chang-ho Hunter!”
Ranking No. 1, Jeong Ha-seong had shown up here.
‘It feels like he knew I would pass by here and was waiting.’
By the way, he was riding a luxury foreign car, while the other, like an S-Class Hunter, just lightly sprinted to catch up to the vehicle.
Kang Chang-ho had no choice but to pull over to the roadside.
“It’s not technically a traffic law violation since you jumped out near the crosswalk.”
And coming back around to this trivial topic, nearly in shock, Jeong Ha-seong spoke.
“First, I apologize for my sudden visit.”
“Such a young man is quite courteous. Guess I have no choice but to accommodate that.”
“But… I’m so surprised. I’ve heard such news.”
Despite my attempts to smoothly guide the conversation, the flow continued awkwardly.
“Kang Chang-ho Hunter. Just to ask in case, did you recently request Mr. Kim’s help for a dungeon raid?”
CLICK.
The mixed-race man froze for a moment, trying to put his sunglasses into his coat pocket.
“What?”
“About the high-difficulty Gate raid that you just finished today.”
“Hmm.”
“I got the news through the association a bit late, but it seems you’ve been handling that with Mr. Kim for two whole days.”
“Yeah.”
Kang Chang-ho kept a smile on his face as usual.
But the National Hero, the young man in his twenties, spoke nervously with a stiff expression.
“Honestly, it sounds unbelievable since Mr. Kim Ki-ryeo is so strong… But still, he just took down a Beast and was hospitalized, and now he’s just gotten discharged, right?”
Yet, to think that the reason for his nervousness would stem from concern for another.
“No matter how perfectly fine he may look as a hunter, I’m aware that he needs to rest for a while to care for his injuries. But suddenly hearing that a dungeon was captured in the name of Kang Chang-ho Hunter, and that Mr. Kim joined in too… It’s quite startling.”
It seems like the ranking No. 1 in Korea speculated that the raid on that Gate was conducted at someone’s request.
Of course, the reality was the complete opposite.
I just happened to fly to America and back with a body that wanted to rest, so how could such an unfair misunderstanding arise?
‘That awakened one with tuberculosis. He was lively for someone near death.’
But Kang Chang-ho didn’t voice his complaints in his head.
No, rather, he tried his best to end this conversation as amicably as possible.
After all, that black-haired young man at hand was, thankfully, the top safety official who always protected this country.
Kang Chang-ho wished to avoid conflict with the Awakened in front of him.
‘It’s been too frequent lately that such minor issues occurred.’
So I pondered how to explain this Gate alibi when a decent idea came to mind.
‘Ah.’
For the record, this idea was only good from his perspective.
‘I can’t just say I secretly went to America. Well, normally, which Awakened would hate being recognized as strong in this world?’
This S-Class Hunter made up his mind to reuse an excuse he had used before.
Eventually, Kang Chang-ho brazenly mixed half-truths in his response.
“Jeong Ha-seong. Listen closely. The reason I went to the dungeon this time is…”
This could be seen as akin to igniting a fire in the previously calm media of Korea.
“I was instructed by Kim Ki-ryeo Hunter.”
“Excuse me?”
“I had no say in this matter; it was the other party who led the whole thing from start to finish.”
“More, the dungeon raid…?”
“Because of various past matters, when it comes to making a move against that psychic, I’m just stuck. It’s natural. Even you wouldn’t be able to ignore such a scary and powerful hunter, would you?”
“Right.”
“So, don’t misunderstand.”
Even though the actual culprit behind this uproar was someone else entirely.
“To put it bluntly, I’m just Mr. Kim’s errand boy. I’m just doing what he tells me to do. So in the future, if you have questions, contact that Awakened directly.”
