Chapter 336. Blessing in Disguise
However, no one could interfere with the alien's plan, and ti passed by rcilessly.
Before long, the sun was high in the sky.
Although quite so ti had passed since *ipchu* (the official start of autumn on the calendar), the midday sun still brought enough warmth to make sweat trickle down on clear days. In this peaceful season, a certain man was walking through a park. However, he wasn't strolling with wireless earphones in his ears listening to music, nor was he walking a dog on a leash.
A notebook that looked like it could be easily bought for under 2,500 won at any office supply store. And a pencil that seed hastily procured from sowhere as well—those were the only belongings this man carried.
The man, dressed lightly, kept walking around a park near a certain hospital. With writing tools in hand, he continuously jotted sothing down.
"H, huh? That person under the tree over there—is that Hunter Kim Giryeo by any chance?"
"Hey, you must be mistaken. Why on earth would Kim Giryeo suddenly show up in our neighborhood...?"
"No, I'm serious. The more I look, the more I'm sure it's really him. Co on, take a look for yourself."
"Huh? That the—you're right, it really is him?"
"Wait here. He doesn't look too busy right now. I'll go talk to him first."
But was there anything about his appearance that particularly stood out?
Golden hair that hadn't faded with ti. And skin the color of apricots, utterly devoid of luster—looking as though it would feel dry and brittle to the touch—was the distinct outer shell of this individual.
So the citizens walking around the sa park had no trouble recognizing him. That South Korea's S-rank Hunter, Kim Giryeo, was here.
"Excuse — Sorry to bother you, but are you perhaps...?"
"Wow! It's really Hunter Kim Giryeo!"
Encountering a top-tier Awakened in person, they were as overjoyed as if they'd won the lottery.
"Wow, hello, Hunter! I saw on the news that you got injured again because of a dungeon and were recovering... So this is the hospital you're going to? That's insane! I was actually just here because my friend got hospitalized with appendicitis!"
"U-um, excuse . I'm really sorry, but... if it's okay, could I maybe get your autograph? I an, not just for —my girlfriend is a huge fan of yours... like, seriously obsessed..."
But the alien in question was growing increasingly irritated—precisely because of situations like this.
Take one step, and soone strikes up a conversation. Take two, and a photo gets snapped—how is he supposed to calmly observe humans like this?
"*sigh*"
Flinch.
Just as the blond Hunter let out a short sound, the civilian instinctively froze in place.
"Huh? I ca over thinking he'd be more approachable than other Awakened, but now that I'm up close... his expression is kind of... intimidating..."
Anyone would tense up if soone with the sa fierce gaze as on a wanted poster stared down at them. However, what followed turned out to be not as bad as the civilian had expected.
"I'm not the type to just sign my na anywhere carelessly. So I can't do that for you. But instead, tell the na of the person who's going to receive it."
Kim Giryeo had a rather mild deanor. A mont soon passed—one that didn't quite match his intimidating appearance.
"Ah! Thank you so much."
It would be understandable for him to get annoyed if his privacy were invaded while walking down the street, but he's this kind? Could it be that Korea's fourth S-rank really does have the remarkable character everyone talks about?
"Thank you. Then have a nice day!"
If that had been the case, things wouldn't have turned out like this.
Kim Giryeo gave a slight nod in farewell to the Korean who walked away, holding the few words he had written as if they were precious. And the mont the other person disappeared from view, he imdiately raised his hand and finished writing this sentence in his notebook.
At this point, it would've been better to just get angry to their face.
As shown by the reaction of the passerby just now, the truth is that the details of the recent Beast incident haven't been fully disclosed to the public. The civilians entering the park had no idea that the leader of the fake Beasts was Enzo Chiano, nor did they know that Kim Giryeo had been hospitalized for several days—which is why they so casually approached an S-rank Hunter.
However, Kim Giryeo reacted very sensitively to this phenonon.
A whopping three consecutive failures that nearly burst his lungs. After going through sothing like that, honestly, from a researcher's perspective (especially one who didn't have the best temperant to begin with), it was only natural to start fuming and wondering why everything kept going so off track.
"The standards for deducting points are getting lower."
He was gradually losing objectivity. Even Kim Giryeo himself was aware of this fact. However, to tell himself not to be swayed by a mont of imitation—he couldn't help but question whether it was truly worth the effort to go to such lengths for the sake of Earthlings.
"Still, I'm at least trying my best not to stray too far from fairness."
He took out his cell phone.
"Normally, I relied on dia outlets to obtain accurate information. But since the news usually focuses on sensational and negative events, it's actually not helpful for this task."
While his eyes were fixed on the screen, Kim Giryeo also turned his newly awakened senses outward to scan his surroundings.
"But anyway, the crowd around here just keeps growing..."
It seed that word had gotten out about an S-rank hunter appearing at the park near the hospital.
"Hmm."
If that's the case, then the walk in the park is over—it might be ti to move to a different location.
Having made his decision, Kim Giryeo stepped out into the city holding just a single notebook. He had concealed only a trace of mana. Still, many people were doubtful simply because he wasn't dressed in a suit. Because of that, he surprisingly blended well into the crowd and was able to record the events without drawing much attention.
However, as he continued this behavior, the negative numbers piled up in his notebook.
"It's already -23 points."
The outsider hidden beneath Kim Giryeo's skin finally realized the problem amidst the entire process.
"At this rate, no matter how slowly I grade them, the outco is obvious."
That it was none other than himself who was dreading this phenonon of the increasing number of negative scores.
A man who opened fire on others just because he disliked the world. A thief who robbed a friend's house out of greed for money. And then, examples of people who seed kind on the surface but were stingy with even a second of their ti when it ca to matters considered less important—like dogs, wild birds, bees, or environntal issues. From the perspective of an outsider like an Alphaurin, Earth already seed to have missed its chance to choose its own direction.
And so, Kim Giryeo genuinely wanted to help. But as the numbers began inching toward the target score of 100, strangely, his grading criteria started to soften again. Even in the mont he witnessed a rchant forcibly soliciting an elderly person right in front of him...
"Excuse . Judging by appearances, this person seems to have hearing loss and probably can't understand the terms of the deal, so let's just settle it around here with this gentleman."
"Gasp! I, I'm sorry!"
He hesitated to add a negative number.
"Isn't this exactly the kind of loss of objectivity I was worried about?"
The reason was simple. Whether it was Du Seohyeong, Jung Haseong, or Ahn Yoonseung—if they were to find out about his plan, their reactions were bound to be anything but friendly.
"For the record, if I were to classify Seo Esther strictly, she'd actually be closer to failing—so she's out of the question..."
This is purely a hypothetical scenario, but... if soone like Ahn Yoonseung's family were deed unfit by the standards—how would he react? Would he be able to eliminate them?
"If you've drawn your sword, you might as well slice so radish. This is shaping up to be a complete ss due to favoritism."
Surprisingly, Kim Giryeo thought the answer to the question he'd just asked himself was "no." And so, his expression turned sour. He was already shocked by the primitive limitations of this species, unable to wield even a nation-level spell. And now, he couldn't even do what he wanted, just because he had to cater to the emotions of a handful of mammals. To be told to simply sit back and suck his thumb while this selfish world unfold—it was infuriating.
Tuh.
It was around the ti the alien being was lost in thought.
"Oh my... Thank you for helping . Such a kind young man you are."
"Where were you headed?"
"It's fine, I was just on my way to the market up ahead anyway. I'm almost there, so don't worry about it. Here, take this. Go on, take it."
The elderly woman, who had escaped the pushy vendor thanks to his help, suddenly pulled sothing out with her dry, wrinkled hand.
[Goguryeo Baekje Silla Red Ginseng Candy]
It was a single roughly shaped piece of candy. Just looking at this token of gratitude, Kim Giryeo suddenly felt even more determined not to be swayed by sentint. Even if it ant doing sothing that the people he knew on Earth would surely disapprove of.
"If I step up and purge the unredeemable chaff, wouldn't the good people be less likely to be deceived or suffer?"
However, if an S-rank Hunter they knew suddenly started massacring their own people, that would undoubtedly cause a considerable psychological shock as well.
"In the end, either way is a loss."
The extraterrestrial being lanted its own wavering over such a petty reason.
Even so, it didn't stop what it was doing. Once again—let's not forget—this side had suffered its fourth lung rupture just a few hours ago during a corpse investigation.
"After all, I'm practically powerless again today, thanks to recovering organs that were wrecked in the shape of the entire Korean Peninsula. I should probably delay the discharge procedures until tomorrow..."
The otherworldly land called Korea was far too vast and fascinating to just lie still in a hospital bed, killing ti. So Kim Giryeo wandered aimlessly outside, all the way past noon and into the early evening, when hints of orange began to creep into the sky.
"Hmm?"
But just as he made up his mind to return to the hospital—
"What is this?"
A botherso sensation settled within the archmage's perception range. At that mont, the alien being had stepped out to the street, unaware of taxi-hailing apps, simply trying to flag down a ride. But wandering around the unfamiliar city center, suddenly encountering a familiar magical energy naturally sparked his curiosity.
"It's Seonwoo Yeon."
It was still broad daylight in the afternoon—so why was Seonwoo Yeon's magical energy radiating not from the Association, but from a completely unrelated building?
"Aha."
Kim Giryeo instinctively turned on his phone to check the ti. The answer appeared right away.
[04:23]
[Saturday]
[Battery—80%]
The other person hadn't gone to work because it was the weekend.
"Typical of a Hunter—completely sold off their sense of what day it is."
That ans the place Seonwoo Yeon is currently at is most likely her residence.
"She used her [Search] skill to co find a few tis too. So if I go this far, I guess we're even, right?"
A light curiosity stirred. Co to think of it, he had visited the hos of people like Kang Changho, Jung Haseong, and Ahn Yoonseung, and each of them lived in completely different environnts. But he had no idea what kind of ho a modest civilian with the surna Seonwoo might live in, and he found himself wanting to check—just for a mont.
"If I'm following the trail of magic correctly, it should definitely be this way..."
If it turned out to be just an ordinary stairwell apartnt visible to the naked eye, the plan was to simply head back with without looking further. But the alien soon realized that all of his assumptions were completely wrong.
"Huh?"
A playground with bright, colorful hues that suddenly struck the mories etched in the brain, making the cold body shudder. And the building's characteristically low number of floors.
[Tomorrow's Daycare Center]
Kim Giryeo absentmindedly fiddled with one of his eyebrows, sinking into thought.
"Huh. Suddenly being hit with sothing like this, I totally forgot. Until what age are people considered minors on Earth again...?"
At the very least, the sign told him what kind of place this was—but why on earth was Seonwoo Yeon inside that building?
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