Chapter 450 – Change. However, the target is different.
Questions piled upon questions, tangling like a thread.
Why are the monsters not inside the dungeon but out here?
What on earth is their purpose in extorting money?
Moreover, what is that woman doing here?
I have no idea what’s going on.
‘Is there some reason for this?’
[That person is a woman, what kind of reason could there be?]
‘Crazy btch. Just wait till I talk to you, fcker.’
Could this all be a trap?
For now, I’ll set that question aside.
Of course, I don’t have any concrete evidence to back it up.
If not, then there’s just no explanation for it.
“What brings you here?”
“Well, you see…”
The slightly awkward expression on the women and the monsters right now speaks volumes.
“Is there a problem?”
“……Yes…”
She forces a smile at my question.
But there was something more important than this.
Why is she, who requested our help, actually here?
So, I quickly spit out my question.
“By the way, who are you to be here?”
“Actually, I’m a member of the Monster Rights Association.”
Her answer was quite far from what I expected, yet somewhat plausible.
The Monster Rights Association.
They generally stand opposed to hunters.
So, it would have been difficult for them to ask for help from other hunters.
That’s why they must have come to us, who have some degree of rapport with them.
“When there’s trouble, the representative said to seek out Shinwoo Hunter.”
“But why didn’t you mention it in the guild and instead acted this way?”
This request was probably merely a means to connect with us.
“Well, since there are other people in the guild, I thought it best to be cautious.”
“Oh, I see. That makes sense.”
However, there were still many parts I didn’t understand.
[Now that I think about it, wasn’t Choi Da-eun not leaving work a while ago?]
‘Useless b*tch. I’ll cut her salary this time.’
Among all this, the most pressing question was why the monsters are here.
And it seems I wasn’t the only one with that question.
Hyeji sharply interjects.
“I heard from Shinwoo that they sent the monsters to the new dungeon.”
“That’s right. At that time, we succeeded in settling them.”
The woman chuckles wryly at that.
Honestly, I don’t know what’s been happening, but seeing her like that means things haven’t gone smoothly since then.
Especially considering that the monsters are outside rather than inside the dungeon.
From the monster’s perspective, it’s an act that risks both safety and life.
Thus, our questions grew deeper.
Elcia quickly voiced her thoughts.
“Then why are they back here now?!”
“……Well…”
The woman trails off and then begins to speak more cautiously than before.
“Actually, the monsters have been hearing strange voices lately.”
“What kind of voices?”
“Like a deity’s revelation?”
What follows is a deep silence and somewhat anxious looks.
It was as though they were pleading if it was really okay to share this.
I nodded in affirmation.
It’s fine to talk about it here.
Then she took a couple of deep breaths and cautiously started speaking.
What came out was a bit shocking.
“It was a voice that sent chills down my spine, like it was gnawing at my soul.”
“Oh, f*ck. No way.”
[Could it be that b*stard?]
‘What the hell could this be…?’
I sighed momentarily.
“Huh? Do you, Shinwoo Hunter, know anything about this?”
“……I have a guess, but nothing more.”
Meanwhile, the heroines exchanged worried glances at my response.
“Shinwoo, what’s with the sudden concern?”
“Husband, are you on your period? Do you need pads?”
“Indeed, blood did come out from the lord’s genitalia.”
“Guess Shinwoo is indeed a virgin.”
“……Whose fault do you think this is, you fcking btches?”
Sorry, but this wasn’t the time to be worrying about that.
[Looks like it’s ovulation day.]
‘This is making my head hurt, so you shut up for a bit.’
I needed to get a definite answer from the monsters soon.
“Could you follow me for a second?”
Crunch.
Not wanting to confuse those I didn’t know, I took the monsters to a secluded spot.
I quietly addressed them so no one else could hear.
“Has any of you recently lost your regression?”
They seemed surprised I knew about regression, yet they all shook their heads in denial.
In other words, it meant everyone had lost theirs long ago.
So, I followed up with my next question.
If what I said is true, then it implies they’ve contacted the monsters even though they no longer have regression.
“When did you start hearing the voices?”
This time, the response I got from the monsters was quite shocking.
Well, it was something I could have expected if I thought about it for a moment.
Because the onset of this phenomenon began when…
[……It was right after I took a hit from that body.]
‘What is that b*stard even planning?’
It was precisely after that incident with me and the Piece.
I was just relieved that the b*stard couldn’t invade my consciousness.
Now, it seemed he is plotting something from an unexpected place.
Yet I was too frustrated to know what it is.
Still, I set aside my irritation and pressed the monsters for more information.
Right now, I had to gather as much information as possible.
“Could you explain a bit more? About what you heard and any subsequent symptoms?”
The monsters started to speak a bit frantically.
Their fierce appearance didn’t match their desperate eyes at all.
The following responses from the monsters were as such:
When they dreamt, they suddenly heard a chilling voice from the darkness.
Though they didn’t know what it was about, the voice said not to resist and to submit quietly.
While it came interruptively, it continued to echo to this day.
They felt as though their very essence was crumbling away due to that voice.
“Has any monster actually been harmed?”
“Keheeeeng….”
They also added that most monsters vanished as if entranced one day suddenly.
[Is this why the monster extermination requests have decreased?]
‘Perhaps that’s likely.’
For now, the “b*stard” who contacted the monsters was that one I had met in my dreams.
Considering the voice’s characteristics, what it said, and when it all started, it made perfect sense.
But I still had no idea what that b*stard’s goal was in contacting the monsters.
I also didn’t know what he wanted from them.
Fortunately, the monsters I was on friendly terms with hadn’t been affected yet.
‘Thank goodness. I was worried about my friends being in danger.’
[Well, that won’t last for long.]
That too seemed like it was just a matter of time.
Anyway, I felt I had talked enough with the monsters, and soothing them, we returned to our original spot.
“Shinwoo, what did you talk about?”
“To put it simply, the monsters are going through some problems right now.”
“Oh? Got it. If you say so, then it must be.”
I immediately turned my gaze towards the woman from the Monster Rights Association.
“Shinwoo Hunter, did you finish your discussion?”
“Yes, but why are you guys suddenly extorting money?”
To understand the correlation between the monsters’ anomalies and the extortion of money.
It’s common to seek out other solutions before one’s very essence falls apart.
To be honest, the monsters’ actions seemed quite far from that logic.
Then she confessed a somewhat unbelievable truth.
“The monsters’ transportation costs are lacking…”
“Oh? Doesn’t the association have quite a bit of money?”
Honestly, this part sounded like a lie.
Even though the Monster Rights Association stands in opposition to the hunters’ actions.
Still, it was a sizable organization, and the title “association” wasn’t given lightly.
Moreover, the issue of transportation costs was puzzling.
There’s a Gate Creating Ability User in the Monster Rights Association.
Then why not just use that person to move the monsters instead of seeking transport costs?
It definitely felt like a blatant lie.
“But you have a Gate Creating Ability User. What does that mean?”
“That person is currently unreachable.”
“…How unfortunate. Maybe they’ve resigned.”
That wasn’t a lie but rather the truth in a different sense.
“The monster fell in love and stole the association’s funds for a romantic escape.”
“……Another crazy bastard like the chief has come out who is banging a monster.”
It’s a dirty truth to put into words.
“No, it’s the monster doing the banging.”
“We didn’t need to go that far, f*ck…”
Well, that would certainly explain a lot.
[This is pure love transcending species, huh?]
‘What the fck is this bullsht love, you crazy b*tch.’
However, there was a point to address urgently.
“But if you need money, you should contact us, why resort to extortion?”
“At least, I didn’t want to owe money…”
Extortion is still a crime, no matter what.
Of course, I understood they were desperate.
But that doesn’t justify their actions.
It’s simply too immoral and unjust.
“But you only extorted money from hunters.”
“Oh, in that case, it’s okay then.”
That could be seen as a moral and just action.
[Well, anyway, those hunter bastards probably waste their money on nonsense.]
‘This is a good way to redirect it back to society.’
Just as I started to accept that notion…
“Everyone, please.”
“What is it…?”
Suddenly, the woman and the monsters bowed their heads in unison.
When we expressed our puzzled looks, the words that followed were completely unexpected.
“Could you take the monsters with you to Japan?”
