Chapter 132

〈 Chapter 133 〉 Chapter 132 – Hunters Don’t Matter!

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From day one, Ahyeon and I were already guaranteed a spot in the main tournament.

So, now we could watch the preliminary rounds with considerable ease.

There were no more guilds to visit, and the sparring ground was already full for practicing alone.

Thus, what Ahyeon and I chose was…

“How about that side?”

“I think the right side will win.”

We decided to watch the preliminary rounds.

They say if you know your opponent, you can always win.

We spent the entire afternoon watching the preliminaries.

[My dear, who seems the most uncomfortable?］

‘That furry team over there, for sure.’

And my eyes were fixed on the team led by the Saintess Caressy, who had just started the preliminaries.

Interestingly, Caressy was participating in the tournament not as a student but with a team led by a Leader Holy Knight.

It was certainly a situation worth questioning, but no one seemed to object to it.

To quench my curiosity, I headed over to where the professors were gathered.

“What is it, you little punk?”

“Professor, why did they hire outside help over there?”

Just then, Professor Pilyong was present.

He barked at me while faithfully answering my question.

“Hmph! Unlike you, the Saintess donated a lot of money to the academy!”

“……How much did she donate for this to be allowed?”

“Thanks to you, I have to pay a salary to research students, but it’s more than enough to cover that loss!”

“That’s rich, coming from someone who’s exploiting your research students.”

Naturally, he thought it was only right to have them work.

I couldn’t let that slide, so I tossed him some juicy bait.

“Indeed, the Kim Shinwoo Law took quite a hit, didn’t it?”

“A hit? A hit? Because of you, we can’t even have company dinners anymore! We don’t have funding for research until the fourth quarter!!”

“So I’m currently working on getting that law repealed.”

“Really!!!”

Suddenly, Professor Pilyong changed his tone and tried to hug me with a bright smile.

I cleverly dodged his reach and gave him the most cunning smile I could muster.

“Did you really believe that, you lying punk?”

“F*cking bastard!!!!”

In a flash, his outstretched arms turned into fists that came flying at me.

But I had already created enough distance.

I deftly evaded his strike while saying to him,

“I’ll consider it if you grow hair on your head.”

“Just say it’s never going to happen!!!!!!”

[…Even he knows his limits.］

‘If you’re bald, there should be some self-awareness.’

Despair hits harder when there’s a hint of hope.

Leaving behind the exploding anger of Professor Pilyong, I returned, laughing heartily, to where Ahyeon was.

“Ahyeon, how was the match?”

“The team with the Saintess won easily.”

“Really?”

That team certainly flaunted the value of the Saintess and Leader Holy Knight roles.

If we met them in the main tournament, they would indeed be a tough opponent.

At the same time, another team caught my eye.

“Ahyeon, isn’t that your sister?”

“……Yeah.”

Ahyeon’s sister, who had dark blue hair braided on both sides and wore glasses, was in the preliminaries.

Beside her stood a mature-looking foreign woman with blond hair and blue eyes, holding a book.

However, Ahyeon’s gaze at them didn’t seem pleasant.

Just as I was about to observe their match more closely, I heard Elcia’s voice.

“I’m selling! I’m selling! Delicious chicken skewers!”

Elcia was shouting from a bit away.

As can be inferred, Elcia was grilling chicken skewers and selling them from a street stall of unknown origin.

Feeling a bit hungry, Ahyeon and I headed to Elcia’s food stall.

“My dear husband! Welcome!”

“Elcia, what are you doing here?”

“This is my seasonal business!”

Elcia replied while grilling chicken skewers over charcoal.

The sight of the golden-brown skewers stimulated my eyes, and the smell of seasonings with the meat tickled my nose.

At that moment, a female student waiting in front of the stall gave Elcia a dissatisfied look.

“When will my chicken skewers come out?”

“Just a moment.”

Then Elcia took out a beautifully grilled chicken skewer.

“Yum!”

“Why are you eating that?!”

Instead of handing it to the student, she popped it right into her own mouth.

Even while chewing, Elcia managed to say,

“This one’s mine!”

“Hah… then the ones at the end must be done, right? Give me those.”

The female student sighed, but couldn’t let go of her desire and pointed at the skewers at the left end.

Those skewers looked really delicious—even at a glance, you could tell they were perfectly grilled.

“Yum-yum~.”

“Why are you eating that!!!”

“This one’s too well done to sell!!”

“F*ck, seriously!!!”

The female student was pacing back and forth, unable to give up on buying food.

I lightly knocked Elcia on the head and said,

“Hey, Elcia. You still have to sell when you’re selling.”

“Hmph, got it.”

“Then why are you eating it!!!!”

“……Take this.”

Seeing what was happening, Ahyeon swiftly handed the beautifully grilled chicken skewer to the female student as oil dripped off.

The female student grabbed it as if to snatch it away and pulled out her card.

“Here’s my payment.”

“We don’t take cards.”

“What kind of f*cked up place is this!!!”

Suddenly, Elcia was dead serious and only asked for cash.

It was like asking a stubborn grandmother at a restaurant for credit, only to have her say, “No credit allowed, customer.”

The female student cursed vehemently, but ultimately paid in cash and left.

Meanwhile, not too far away, I saw Hyeji doing her flairing business to get students to buy food.

Hyeji’s marketing attracted three types of students.

The first type complied quietly with the sales pressure.

“Hey, buy some chicken skewers.”

“Uh?”

To the male student’s confused look, Hyeji pointed her gun straight at him.

“I won’t say it twice. Go buy a chicken skewer.”

“Yes! Yes! Please let me buy some!!”

The male student hurried over to Elcia’s food stall to order some skewers.

The second type opposed Hyeji’s sales tactics.

A group of female students looked down on Hyeji and laughed at her mockingly.

“Who would eat that low-class stuff?”

“Bring something that matches our level.”

“Buy until you’re three sheets to the wind.”

“Hmph! Try it!”

The female students had no intention of budging.

Then Hyeji aimed her rifle at their feet.

“One.”

– Bang!

“That’s still one shot!”

“Two.”

– Bang! Bang!

“AAAAAH!!!”

The group of female students, frightened by the sudden rain of bullets, cried out as tears streamed down.

“Fine! Please stop shooting!! I’ll buy some!!”

“Buy enough for your group, or else you’re dead.”

With that, Hyeji walked away from the female students.

The last type was the students who boldly declared they had no money.

When Hyeji approached the group of male students, they looked proud and said to her.

“We really wanted to buy, but sadly, we have no money!”

“Ah~! What a pity~! We really wanted to eat~!”

“Oh, really?”

Hyeji dragged the group of male students toward us.

Turning to face them, she quietly said,

“Jump in place.”

“Uh?”

– Bang!

“YIKES!!!”

Hyeji’s rifle fired again.

This time, aiming the gun at the group of male students, she ominously spoke.

“Don’t you understand me when I say to jump in place?”

“Alright, alright!”

The male students jumped repeatedly without any complaints.

At that moment, Elcia’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she said,

“I just heard some bills rustling from that student’s pocket!”

“How did you catch that!”

“Oh! I just heard some jingling from the right pocket of the student in the middle!”

“What kind of beast are you!!!”

Then Hyeji tilted her head slightly and grinned ominously at the group of male students.

“Money. You have it, don’t you?”

“I’ll buy some! Please spare me!!!”

Thus, even the last group of students obediently bought chicken skewers.

Seeing them eat while shedding tears, I couldn’t help but feel proud that Elcia must’ve grilled them perfectly.

In the end, Hyeji’s marketing successfully concluded despite the various types of students.

‘Truly the best salesperson.’

[What a bunch of f*cking punks!!! You damn robbers!!!］

‘Oh, come on. We’re just having a perfectly legitimate transaction!’

The sight of students desperately wanting to eat chicken skewers and the increasing cash in the stall’s cashbox was more than enough to cloud my rationality.

Watching the preliminaries no longer had any meaning for me.

Who cares about tournaments?

It’s time to dive into the food business.

There was still time before the main event, and it was a good opportunity to gain some experience.

The justification was more than adequate.

If I can’t become a hunter after graduation, I’ll at least have to run a food stall.

Let’s go.

Into the world of culinary arts!

[Where in the world is this an academy novel!!］

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