Reputation be damned. A Hunter from South Korea had just made the bold move of threatening to move to a neighboring country. The group of mammals gathered there all shared a common reaction.
“Are you crazy?”
Their expressions were completely transparent. However, dismissing soone’s ntion of naturalization as re provocation was difficult—there were a few suspicious clues, and soon, an odd silence fell over the room.
“Why are you all looking at like that?”
Even when I asked again, the surroundings were still quiet.
Dark pupils drifting like the eyes of a dead fish. Objectively speaking, that’s exactly the kind of look I had under my thick eyelids as I blankly stared at the people across from .
Would sothing like this really give them a good impression? I still don’t know much about Earth’s physiognomy, but through my experiences so far, I’ve learned one thing. When a hulking man sits there with his eyes wide and piercingly blue, ordinary people can’t easily push their opinions.
And fortunately, the mood that followed went just as expected.
‘Looking at his eyes, he’s completely crazy. He really is a guy who would do whatever he says...’
‘No matter how I look at it, he really seems serious.’
If those kinds of thoughts were running through their heads, then everything was going according to plan. Having completed the actions I had mapped out, I made one final, subtle shift in posture. It felt like all the unnecessary mind gas had run their course, so I leaned back comfortably and focused once more.
***
And then how much ti passed again?
“...”
In truth, the danger that had suddenly closed in on the alien ended in an instant—so abruptly, in fact, that to an outsider it might have even seed anticlimactic. But just because the incident wrapped up without much drama didn’t an the outco had been easily won. This result was the product of soone’s sharp instincts, combined with ticulous preparation and research.
“Just a mont. I’m not sure if I heard that correctly. Are you saying that Hunter Kim Giryeo made a statent about changing citizenship before the questioning even properly began?
“Yes!”
Let say it again: I dropped a bomb on them by effectively saying, ‘If I’m treated unfairly over this incident, I’ll just side with another country.’ And with that, I seized the initiative. So what could the natives of Earth possibly do about it? Even now, I still have no idea what intentions or thods the particular powers that called in had when they ca to that eting.
‘No matter how much of my magic power I’ve regained, I can’t very well go around cracking open people’s heads every ti I’m curious about their thoughts.’
However, once the people in front of began to consider the possibility that this hunter might renounce their nation and—and even go so far as to publicly na and drag down the individuals who had provoked them—nothing else really mattered. They couldn’t even attempt the smallest negotiation after that. Besides, I thought that this kind of threat was actually a very peaceful choice.
“I told you not to worry, didn’t I? I intended to settle everything with words from the very beginning.”
Not just a con artist bluffing as an S-rank, but a real SS-rank superhuman. Who in the world would actually want to fight sothing like that, physically?
“Of course, using this recklessly would have side effects, but since I acted for the greater good in that last dungeon, I think it’s okay just this once.”
But seeing how the tension was released much more easily than I had worried, maybe they never intended to push anyone too hard from the start.
The main reason I had predicted they might try to apply pressure was the fact that a foreigner was involved in the incident.
‘If I look at it from a sort of insurance company’s perspective, it’d probably be more convenient for negotiations between the two countries if the Koreans were at least slightly at fault, rather than Enzo being entirely in the wrong. Honestly, if it were , I’d probably want to dig around to see if the injured party had made any mistakes too.’
But no matter how powerful the country making the request was, at the end of the day, Kim Giryeo’s body was still that of a Korean. Trying to pick a fight with soone who shares your nationality or affiliation—who’s technically ‘one of your own’—might not have sat well with everyone involved. Perhaps, for so among them, the ergence of a legitimate excuse to look the other way felt like a welco relief.
‘At the very least, one or two people in that room were giving off that vibe.’
Anyway, it’s a relief that this incident was safely recognized as self-defense.
It was at this ti. Suddenly, a woman’s voice ca from the other end of the receiver.
“And of all people...
Her distinct, fair tone—it was Seonwoo Yeon.
“Hunter Kim Giryeo, are you saying that you actually considered using a change of nationality as a weapon...?”
At first, it seed she had called just to check whether I had been taken into custody. But as the conversation went on, Seonwoo Yeon had so questions.
“Shall I take a guess?”
I guessed that her curiosity was about how that being—an alien, no less—managed to pick out elents that would so perfectly resonate with humans on Earth. Having finished my thoughts, I gladly answered her even though she hadn’t asked directly.
“You noticed too, huh. Well, first of all, it wasn’t hard to deduce that an S-rank Hunter emigrating wouldn’t be taken lightly—especially when you link it to matters of military strength.”
“...”
“If I was going to issue a threat, I figured I might as well make it effective—so I asked for the nas of the people in the room. Sure, having a powerful soldier in the country is sothing to be welcod, but whether that weapon is in my hands is another matter. That’s why there are people like Go Byeongdo who don’t scare easily, even when faced with defection threats.”
“...”
“Ah, but just in case that alone wasn’t enough, I personally added one more thing...”
Co to think of it now, life really is full of twists and turns—like the old saying goes, a blessing in disguise.
“People here seem to pay more attention to neighboring countries, right? That’s why I specifically ntioned China and Japan as examples of countries I might naturalize to.”
It’s already been about a year since I set foot in this world of mammals. In the beginning, I was barely scraping by—picking up sweet red bean buns off the ground, weakened by the side effects of magic. Who would’ve thought that so one like that would eventually gain enough composure to study the societal structure of an entirely different world?
“But, Seonwoo Yeon, how did my words co across to you during that eting?”
I leaned closer to the receiver and waited for a mont. After a short pause, a certain B-rank hunter responded with a weary voice. To be precise, it was the assessnt of a native of this planet.
“..pared to an ordinary naturalization declaration, the way you phrased it, Kim Giryeo-ssi, was definitely more psychologically burdenso...”
“Right?”
“And now that I think about it, nas like Nakamura and Chi Wei... you must’ve morized them in advance with the full intention of putting people on edge from the very start, didn’t you...?”
A Hunter Association staff mber. Seonwoo Yeon slowly went silent as she mulled over each of my actions. The reason she was at a loss for words was obvious. She wasn’t even a native Korean—so the fact that so alien from a distant corner of the universe had resorted to such a ruthless tactic was bound to stir a mix of complicated emotions within her.
“How did you even co to understand the differences in national stances like that...?”
There’s really not much to explain. Unless you’re so extraordinary genius, most successes just boil down to steady effort and genuine interest.
“Actually, regardless of a distant foreign country, paying attention to neighbors who share your border is the sa everywhere.”
I adjusted my grip on the phone and continued the conversation.
“Of course, from the perspective of soone who has lived in ‘bigger waters,’ East Asia as a whole seems genetically and geographically quite close.”
“Hmm.”
“If I lump you all together by saying, ‘Aren’t you basically the sa race?’ it feels like I’d end up angering Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese people at all once. So I’ll make sure to correct that line of thinking as quickly as possible.”
I believe this sufficiently explains the case for recognizing self-defense.
“Thank...you?”
Now that the report confirming my freedom is done... I was just about to finally grab a bite to eat—
“Ah, wait.
Just before I could hang up, Seonwoo Yeon’s urgent voice ca through the receiver.
“First of all, congratulations on resolving this matter successfully. But I heard that during the testimony session, there was also discussion about the [Book of Destruction]. Could you tell if there’s anything related to that...?
Ah, the [Book of Destruction]. Of course, I heard the na of that item as well. But there’s really nothing I need to explain about it.
“That?”
Because in the end, that artifact is now in a state where neither I, nor any governnt agency, nor even its original owner can touch it.
“What a pity.”
If those who eliminated criminals were entitled to claim their belongings, modern society would have inadvertently entered a new era of bounty hunting. Modern courts have established nurous safeguards precisely to prevent such chaos from erupting in the first place.
“But, anyway, it’s a useless burden.”
In other words, since I was the one who killed Enzo, it was impossible for to claim the item as loot.
But if I were to go out of my way to forcibly take it, the [Book of Destruction] is basically just a simple storage device. To use the recorded magic, the user has to provide their own magic. Besides, how powerful could the spells inscribed on an item that’s just wandering around really be? Since it’s filled with ‘cheap’ magic ant for public display, honestly, if soone could compose the spells themselves, it would be more efficient to cast magic on their own rather than using the [Book of Destruction].
“They say the U.S. side is claiming the [Book of Destruction] was stolen, so apparently there’s going to be a lot of back-and-forth about it moving forward...”
So, I had pretty much lost interest in that item.
“I have no intention of getting involved in so international dispute like this. It’s a hassle, and I’ve got plenty of other things to do. So I already told them not to even contact about that item.”
That’s how I finished reporting on most of the Beast incident.
“Yes, the issue regarding the disposal of the [Book of Destruction] will probably be fine. Thanks to hunters like you, Kim Giryeo, no one will be threatened again by that kind of book.
But just as I heard now...it feels a bit off to simply call soone’s second awakening a stroke of good fortune.
“Once again, I really want to thank you for the last ti. Koreans... when you think about it, they don’t really have much to do with you. And yet, you always step in to help us...”
“Yes.”
I ended the call without adding anything more. She looked so relieved—it was almost pitiful. But that Earthling probably had no idea at all.
“That’s true. In reality, we’re quite distant from each other.”
Perhaps Korea was both the safest and the most dangerous one on this planet. Because once the grading was complete, I intended to apply the results starting from the place I had been living all along.
***
The next day, soon after I visited.
“Whoam.”
Finally, after getting my wound stitched up, more than 30 hours had passed in complete rest.
‘I feel refreshed!’
That ant I no longer had to hold back on using magic out of constant anxiety. So, the mont I got up, I finalized today’s agenda.
*[Plan]*
1. Investigate the bodies of Enzo Chiano’s group.
2. Buy a fast charger on the way.
For reference, I already negotiated in advance for the body inspection, under the reasoning that I needed to see with my own eyes whether the person I killed was really that famous Hunter... Though, I feel like there’s a sentence in there that doesn’t quite fit the tone. But it can’t be helped. According to what I checked yesterday, today’s dinner nu in this ward is samgyetang.
‘I, I should at least take my ti and get discharged tomorrow. Honestly, once I leave this place, when will I ever get the chance to eat hospital samgyetang again?’
My body had fully recovered. In fact, a suitcase that Jung Haseong had brought over was already standing in one corner of the hospital room. In other words, I had already retrieved all my belongings that had been stored at soone else’s place like a guest, and yet—driven by a small, everyday sort of indulgence—I decided to spend one more day at the hospital. Which is why I found myself wanting to buy a good charger, sothing convenient to use while staying here.
‘No more lazing around—once the morning rounds are over, I’d better head out right away.’
But just as I was about to head out according to this whole plan—
“Hmm?”
Unexpected magical energy began to flow from right outside the hospital room.
‘What it?’
At this ti of day, I shouldn’t be encountering this kind of magical energy. But no matter how many tis I checked, I already did seem to be him—the one I knew. So after staring through the wall for a long while, I finally ca to a decision.
‘It’s Ahn Yoonseung.’
Let’s go outside and pretend to know him first.
‘I can now hold back my energy from leaking out of my body. Maybe I should approach like an assassin and give him a little scare.’
In addition, I wanted to tease him to celebrate my magical power control ability returning.
‘This guy—Unlike , he’s a professional affiliated with a guild, and yet... skipping work and hanging around here, huh...’
However, what I encountered outside after sneaking away like that was an unimaginable sight.
“Huh.”
A quiet hallway. Since I’m the only VIP patient currently admitted, the entire floor is extrely silent. Yet, soone is standing there.
‘What the... Did he co to the hospital because he’s sick or sothing too?’
To get straight to the point, a certain shaved-head hunter was currently covering his mouth with his fist, silently sobbing without making a sound.
Author’s Thoughts: Hi, from now on, I will update this novel 3 chapters/week. Thank you for all your support so far:)
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