Chapter 26
No matter how successful a Clan Master was, he had no choice but to lower his tail before the Minister of Defense Strategy and a First-Generation Hunter.
“Do you still take Hunters around and do things like club activities these days?”
“C-Club activities? That is too much, sir. We are a proper Clan, a Clan.”
“Is that so? I heard the Boramae Clan holds more gatherings than actual Hunter activities.”
“You have heard wrong. We are not that kind of Clan.”
As if you were not.
Listening to Kim Yeongnam’s excuses made a hollow laugh escape me.
“Very well. First, let us hear the full story.”
“I will report it, sir.”
Captain Im seized the opportunity and told Ahn Gukseon everything that had happened.
“So not only did they claim ownership of the Rune that appeared after Cha Eunseong killed the Count, but one of them also died because he had not put ballistic plates inside his Plate Carrier?”
“Yes, Minister.”
“Then he died because he deserved to die.”
Ahn Gukseon spoke flatly.
“If someone who calls himself a Hunter went around without even putting ballistic plates in his Plate Carrier and died, it would not be unreasonable to call that death by natural causes. Is that not so?”
“Ah, yes.”
Kim Yeongnam answered in a reluctant voice.
Now that he had heard the whole story, he probably had nothing to say.
Even when they were not meant specifically to defend against bullets, Plate Carriers were essential for Hunters.
Even high-ranking Hunters who were immune to bullets wore Plate Carriers and inserted ballistic plates made of various materials to protect their hearts, so what did some half-baked nobody think he was?
“Then Eunseong shooting your Clan members would also fall under self-defense.”
“You are absolutely correct.”
“It even seems Eunseong only intended to subdue your Clan members.”
“Pardon?”
“I heard his marksmanship is outstanding. If he intended to kill them, there would have been no need to shoot them in the chest. He could simply have shot them in the head.”
The Minister glanced at me and spoke.
“Judging by the way you speak of him...... he must be someone you especially cherish, Minister.”
“He is the one I have the highest expectations for.”
“What?!”
A startled Kim Yeongnam took off his sunglasses and turned to look at me.
‘Ugh.’
Thanks to that, I was the one who ended up in trouble.
If the Minister openly used that kind of expression, other people would start paying attention to me, not just that man.
And my prediction soon became reality.
“A rookie Hunter Minister Ahn Gukseon has expectations for?”
“What are you doing? Hurry up and take pictures!”
CLICK, CLICK!
Several reporters swiftly pressed their shutters.
In thirty minutes, articles with my face plastered across them would go up, and social media users would rush to share them.
By evening, quite a lot of my personal information would probably be spread around as well.
‘What an old fox.’
The Minister’s intention was obvious.
He meant to take this opportunity to firmly label me as someone from the Defense Strategy Department and cut off any approach from other Clans at the source.
It was only possible because this was still an era when the Defense Strategy Department’s power was overwhelming, but I had no intention of joining a Clan in the first place.......
‘It was going to happen anyway.’
Unless I operated from the very beginning as an Unregistered Awakened, it was no exaggeration to say that a Government Contractor like me could not hide his identity.
If I kept clearing Gates and distinguishing myself whenever a Transference phenomenon occurred, my identity would naturally be exposed.
“Just in case, regarding this incident, if you try anything against Eunseong.......”
“Oh, Minister. Why would you worry about something like that? I am not that kind of man.”
Kim Yeongnam hurriedly waved his hands.
“Can you promise that?”
“Of course. I have not the slightest intention of touching the rookie Hunter you have such high expectations for, Minister. If anything, I would like to get close to him. Hahaha.”
Kim Yeongnam put on a good-natured smile.
“You said your name was Cha Eunseong, right? I am Kim Yeongnam. I am sorry about what happened earlier. He was someone I was fairly close with.......”
“I am sorry it turned out this way.”
“What do you have to be sorry for? If you shot him with the intention of subduing him, that means you were being considerate in your own way. It must have been his fate to die.”
“Even so, it cannot sit well with you. Please accept my condolences.”
“Thank you for saying that. As for this matter....... let us simply forget it. I am only saying this in case you are worried, but our Clan will not cause trouble over this matter in the future.”
“Thank you.”
“There is no need to thank me. We were the ones at fault.”
“Haha.......”
“Then let us meet again with a smile next time.”
“Yes.”
Perhaps thanks to the Minister’s mediation, things ended amicably with Kim Yeongnam.
“You have been through a great deal. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I am not.”
“That is a relief. It must have been quite a hard fight.”
“It was fun.”
“Did you just say it was fun? Even though you nearly died?”
Of course.
In my previous life, I had only cleaned up after others as a Supporter.
“Is nearly dying really such a big deal for a Hunter?”
“Nearly dying is not such a big deal, is it? You are liable to become a monster too.”
The Minister repeated my words and spoke.
“.......”
I felt as if I understood what he meant, so I did not answer.
The monster the Minister spoke of probably meant a human who had lost his humanity.
And.......
‘I am already a monster, though.’
Perhaps even more than you, Minister.
***
WHUPWHUPWHUPWHUP!
Thanks to the Defense Strategy Department giving us a helicopter ride, Choi Yura and I were able to return home very quickly.
DING, DING, DING, DING....... DING!
As I sat at the edge of the helicopter and looked down at Seoul, my phone kept ringing nonstop with notifications.
[DM] Did you Awaken??? This is insane;;
[DM] Did you see the news? Your face is all over social media??
[DM] Long time no see. Have you been well? I heard the news. You became a Hunter, right?
All kinds of DMs poured into my social media account, which had been practically dormant.
Texts and calls kept coming in without pause as well, to the point that I could not use my phone at all.
“Looks like the articles are up.”
Choi Yura, who was sitting right beside me, spoke as if she understood.
“Enjoy it.”
“What?”
“Fame.”
“Enjoy it as much as you can now. Later, it will only stress you out.”
Choi Yura wore a strange expression.
“Heh.”
I gave a faint laugh and threw my phone out of the helicopter.
The phone fell onto the roof of a building and shattered into pieces.
“What are you doing?”
“It was annoying.”
“What is that going to change?”
“At least I will not have to take unnecessary calls.”
“Honestly.”
Choi Yura shook her head and continued speaking.
“But this is unexpected.”
“What is?”
“Most people do not know what to do and end up living glued to their phones. They rise and fall with every comment that appears.”
“Were you like that in the old days?”
“S-Shut up.”
“So you were.”
“Do you want to die?”
Choi Yura raised the Spirit Sword slightly and growled.
It seemed like I would get hit for no reason, so I decided not to pry any further.
‘Right. Everyone must have had a time like that.’
I, too, once had a time when I was swayed by attention.
When someone became a Hunter, their life changed.
Wherever they went, they received good treatment. They handled vast sums of money that ordinary people could not even dare to imagine. They received gazes filled with admiration.
Every action they took was turned into an article, and they gained anywhere from hundreds to millions of fans. How could anyone keep their mind intact through all that?
But even that would only last for a time.
In a few years, once this world, this society, collapsed, the people who had placed Hunters on pedestals would disappear as well.
“Thirty seconds to arrival!”
“Thirty seconds!”
As expected of a top-class penthouse, the rooftop of our family’s new home had a helipad.
“You do not need to land. Please just lower the rope.”
“Are you really going to get off like that?”
“Why go to the trouble of landing? I am the only one getting off.”
“Do you even know how?”
Instead of answering, I grabbed the rope with practiced ease and slid smoothly down.
“I am going.”
I waved up at Choi Yura, who was staring at me with a startled expression, then headed home.
***
It seemed our house was no exception to the commotion.
“I’m ba.......”
“Big Brooo!”
“Wh-what?”
“Are you all right? You are not hurt anywhere?”
“Yeah, I am fine.”
“Phew.”
My little sister let out a deep sigh of relief.
“I thought you might have been hurt somewhere.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“How could I not worry when your face was shown huge on the news? I never thought I would live to see your face on the news.”
She glared at me.
Still, her concern was obvious, and a corner of my heart warmed.
“Eunseong! Are you all right? You are not hurt anywhere?”
Mother examined every part of my body, as though even the smallest scratch might have appeared.
And this was the woman who never seemed to worry about Father.......
“Why did you not answer your phone!”
“It broke during the operation.”
I could not bring myself to say I had broken it with my own hands, so I glossed over it.
“Then you should have borrowed someone else’s phone and contacted us! Do you know how worried I was?”
“I am sorry.”
“From now on, contact us first. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Use this. And tell us the number.”
Mother handed me a spare phone and a prepaid SIM card that had been lying around the house.
Father had a habit of breaking phones during operations at the drop of a hat, so we had several phones and SIM cards piled up at home.
Though phones were hardly the only things he broke.
“Call your father first, right away. Do you know how worried he was?”
“Yes, I will.”
As Mother told me to, I immediately called Father.
“Hello.”
“Yes.”
“I am perfectly fine.”
Contrary to what Mother had said, Father’s voice was as calm as usual.
He probably did not want to show his son how anxious he had been.......
“Yes. Please come home safely.”
Perhaps because we were father and son, the call ended simply and clearly.
“I will wash up first.”
“What about dinner?”
“Let us eat together when Father comes. He said he is on his way.”
“All right.”
My body was stiff, so I decided to take a quick shower and then sweat it out for a while.
Perhaps because it was a luxury penthouse, there was a cypress sauna beside the second-floor bathroom I used.
Had about an hour passed?
“Yes, as long as you are not hurt, that is enough. Try not to do anything too dangerous.”
“Yes, I will.”
“And do not let yourself be swayed just because people are paying attention to you. A Hunter is not some celebrity.”
“Of course.”
After roughly drying my hair, I went out to the living room, only to find myself talking with Father...... What was this?
FLINCH!
I was so startled that I summoned [Butcher of Madness].
“Father!”
“Why are you shouting in the house...... hm?”
Father discovered me and frowned.
Then he looked at the other me he had been talking to until just now and moved like lightning.
CLICK!
Father hurriedly drew his pistol and took a firing stance, glaring back and forth between me and the other me.
“What is this.......!”
I agreed with Father one hundred percent.
Because I, too, could not understand the current situation in the slightest.
Rainy Lotus
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