He looked around the building once more. But no matter how many tis he checked, it was clear—this was definitely a state institution that cared for children without parents.
"The na and location are different from the place my body's original owner used to go to, though."
But paradoxically, do you know what the Archmage thought of first the mont he saw such an altruistic institution?
"As expected, it's better to wipe out at least half of the Earthlings."
A dangerous thought instantly took hold in his head.
Of course, in the present age where monsters have appeared, many children lose their guardians due to unfortunate accidents. But before the magical shockwave hit this planet, the causes of children needing protection were clearly like this. 20% due to abuse, 20% were abandoned illegitimate children, and 20% were kids neglected during divorce proceedings. Additionally, a few more percentages ca from infant abandonnt. Almost half of the cases were due to such negligent or harmful reasons.
"Oh, my head hurts."
And even if they end up in a childcare facility like this, is their life truly kept safe?
That's not guaranteed either. There's always an elent of luck involved. If they're unlucky, they might end up trapped in so absurd facility where even al subsidies get embezzled—unable to escape because they're too young and have nowhere else to turn. So...
"Why on earth are there so many mammal cubs in this low building?"
There wasn't any noticeable change in his expression, but the blond man briefly considered docking points from this place simply because there were too many people around.
But then.
"Hey, guys! Look over there. There's a super scary-looking man standing by the door."
"Where? Which door are you talking about?"
"Move over. I wanna see too."
"Whoa, for real? His face is amazing."
"Who is that?"
Maybe it was because he had been lost in thought right in front of the wide-open gate. Kim Giryeo was quickly spotted by the residents of the place.
"Noona, there's a thief out front!"
"A thief is here! He's trying to steal the new padded jacket I got!"
"Ugh, guys... I don't think we should be using words like that carelessly..."
And just as the magical energy trail had indicated all along—there was indeed a certain B-rank Awakened in the playground of this building.
"That person's not a thief..."
Soon, a woman with long black hair ca to a stop. Despite her neat, composed face, Seonwoo Yeon was carrying a load of dirty and heavy construction materials. When she spotted soone, her eyes widened like those of a startled rabbit.
***
Then, it was ti to offer an explanation.
"Hunter Kim Giryeo."
This place, if you think about it, was just like an elentary school or a kindergarten—sowhere that should be strictly protected. So why hadn't I realized sooner that lurking around suspiciously here was a terrible idea?
"Hello, Seonwoo Yeon-ssi."
"Yes, hello. May I ask what brings you here all of a sudden?"
"I was just passing by the area and sensed a familiar magical energy."
"Was there no other reason besides that?"
"Yes."
"I had a feeling it'd be sothing like that. But if you go around doing this to other people too, you'll probably end up in legal trouble sooner or later..."
A break room inside a certain building. I sat there holding a paper cup of barley tea they'd offered , listening to what could be called a scolding—though not quite one. From Seonwoo Yeon's perspective, she'd just been spending an ordinary weekend when an unexpected visitor suddenly showed up. To make matters worse, she wasn't the type to enjoy unplanned disruptions in her carefully scheduled day.
"Wow... It's really an S-rank Hunter."
"Why did you co to our orphanage?"
But at least it was a relief that everyone else, except for her, welcod warmly.
I glanced around and looked through the crack in the doorway.
"That was fast."
Upon making eye contact, the kids scattered like wild animals in embarrassnt, and soon, a quiet conversation began.
It was my voice that broke the silence first.
"By the way, I'm not sure if I should be asking this, but honestly, I'm curious why Seonwoo Yeon-ssi is here."
Slurp.
Seonwoo Yeon also took a sip of the barley tea she was given and replied with a single sentence.
"Because it's the weekend."
But that alone wasn't enough of an answer.
"Weekend?"
As I simply blinked in silence, Seonwoo Yeon soon offered an explanation.
"To put it simply... just like most office workers, really. Since today's my day off from association work, I've been spending it on a hobby."
"Hobby?"
"Why are you asking again?"
"So, your hobby is... visiting orphanages?"
"More precisely, volunteer work."
Oh my.
"Originally, I used to help organize bookshelves at the local cultural center every weekend. But starting this year, the system changed, so I moved my volunteer work here instead."
So this could be considered a human hobby.
"Before my awakening, I used to enjoy donating blood too. But now, since even inserting a needle qualifies as a special situation, I had to give that up... it's a bit of a sha."
I listened to the story quietly and then said.
"Why?"
Why do you offer your labor for work that doesn't even pay? When I raised this question, which ca straight from my gut, Seonwoo Yeon looked even more flustered.
"I, just... because I was bored, I guess..."
"What do you an?"
But before long, she also strongly protested.
"I get it. When I say this out loud, people either think I'm weirdly admirable for no reason, or they sneer and say I'm strange."
"Hmm."
"But honestly, this kind of hobby really isn't a big deal. I'm a governnt-registered awakened individual—my salary has always been comparable to that of a major corporation employee, even if it's a bit less than what guild hunters make."
"Wow."
"Besides, I hardly ever have to enter high-difficulty gates for work. Most of the ti, I'm just supporting real hunters and making their jobs a bit easier."
"What's the main point?"
"Even if I earned more money, there's nothing to spend it on. I can easily choose only safe jobs—so why would I risk my life for equipnt?"
"I..."
"Most awakened civil servants are like that, I think. If money were the top priority, they wouldn't have joined this sector in the first place."
I opened my mouth slightly.
"So yeah, the salary's more than enough. But if I just stay ho on my days off, it gets a bit lonely... Sohow, volunteering ended up becoming my hobby."
Sure, the way she explained it all sounded perfectly reasonable—but it definitely wasn't sothing I could ever imagine doing myself.
"What is she, so retired old person living out her golden years?"
Could soone really beco a volunteer just because they were bored? There's no one grading them. And yet, they quietly keep at it, even when no one's watching.
"Wow. You are a really good person."
I praised him with almost pure admiration.
But as soon as those words left my mouth, Seonwoo Yeon's expression turned ambiguous. She half-lifted one corner of her lips, only to drop it again—as if, to put it crudely, she'd accidentally bitten into a bug.
"Thank you for the complint. But as for what I think of myself... I'm not so sure. I don't think that's true at all."
How could soone voluntarily doing unpaid volunteer work not be a good person?...Wait, are you interpreting this from the Ministry of Employnt and Labor's point of view or sothing?
"Don't be too surprised. To be honest, that's what it was."
"Yes?"
"Maybe others would feel differently, but at least for —I never look on this work with any sort of grand sense of duty."
"..."
"Just helping others makes feel good. It kind of feels like this way might keep out of hell, you know? Like I'm racking up so karma points in advance, just in case. And of course, it feels nice when soone thanks ..."
"..."
"It's just not money, that's all. But I still always expect sothing in return."
As soon as I heard those words, the first thing I did was acknowledge this.
"There is no reincarnation system like the one you imagine in this world."
It was a kind of friendly warning not to waste effort on pointless things. But by the ti Seonwoo Yeon responded to that, I was left speechless.
"I know."
Seonwoo Yeon. From the start, with a surna system different from others, she gave trouble. Her education, the color of her hair, and her even awakening level—when evaluated as an S-rank hunter, all seem quite ordinary. So why does that Earthling always manage to defy all expectations?
"I suddenly had a question."
I blurted out a few thoughts in my head.
"Seonwoo Yeon, since we're already talking about things like the afterlife, here's a bit of speculation—what do you think would happen if all the selfish people disappeared from this world?"
The case that ca up this ti was a very serious egoist. In other words, I didn't forget to add that it only included cases where soone killed soone.
But I really didn't expect this kind of answer.
"Then of course that would be good, but..."
"Oh."
"Even if they all disappeared right now, won't they just reappear again in the future? So, is there really any aning to it?"
Seonwoo Yeon continued chatting in a light tone, as if sharing her thoughts on a movie they had watched together.
"Even good people now can beco bad later depending on their environnt."
What fate was hanging on those few words of conversation? That person probably wouldn't know until they died.
"But there are also opposite examples, so I'm thinking again about getting rid of all the felons because they're serious criminals..."
"Huh."
"I believe in the original sin. I wasn't particularly fond of kids to begin with, but did you happen to hear the kids in the dormitory earlier talking about you, Hunter?"
"Yes."
"That's right. Kids these days can be really mischievous. So personally, it's a bit uncomfortable, but looking ahead, I believe that among them, there will definitely be people who grow up to live very kindly. At least, that's how I see it for now."
The woman, dressed in casual clothes today, said that and began to slowly wrap up the conversation.
[North-South Barley Tea]
Gathering up the used tea bags to dispose of them, and for so reason, she put the work gloves back on her hands—the sa ones she had briefly worn when we first t.
"Gloves?"
When I asked about it, Seonwoo Yeon replied lightly, as if it was nothing special.
Actually, part of the orphanage building had been severely damaged by monsters that had leaked from a dungeon. They couldn't afford to hire a full team of workers due to budget constraints, so this ti they sought awakened volunteers—sothing only allowed in ergency situations. According to her, she was basically here as a porter, so she wore the gloves just to keep her hands from getting too dirty. Well, considering she's a B-rank hunter, she could probably handle most heavy lifting all by herself.
Seonwoo Yeon finished her explanation and went back to work. No matter how much she enjoyed volunteering, she seed in a bit of a hurry—probably hoping to head ho before dinnerti.
"..."
Well then. That Earthling has left, and it's not like I have anything else to do here anyway. I decided to stick to my original plan and head back to the hospital room.
But before that—let's finish this matter first.
Swoosh.
I took out the small spiral notebook I had kept in my right pants pocket. And I added a sentence to the end of the page and finished the day.
********************
*Earth has Seonwoo Yeon... 123
*[100] End with Achievent-
********************
Anyway, on a planet where such genes clearly exist, what kind of managent can an Alphauri really expect?
"Let's put this plan on hold indefinitely."
These guys are a thousand—no, ten thousand tis better than so alien like .
***
And just like that, another day passed. On a Sunday morning where it still didn't feel real that a single person's words had made Homo sapiens a little safer. I returned to my hospital room, took a nap, and finished getting ready. And by "getting ready," I an sothing simple—packing up to be discharged.
I also had to check if there were any additional serious health issues. At so point, the nurse ca by and let know when I'd be discharged.
But since there was still so ti before I had to vacate the hospital room, I decided to take care of one last thing in this spacious VIP room before heading back to the temporary studio apartnt I had secured for research.
Even though the Earth-style "pruning" plan had gone up in smoke, everything else I'd planned on that first day of hospitalization—up on the rooftop—was proceeding as scheduled. So first, as per the primary objective, I needed to neatly wrap up the matter of the Fake Beasts. Co to think of it, wasn't there soone who'd made a perfect source of information for that?
"Besides, now that I rember, they also told to contact them first once I fully recover there."
I used the masterpiece of a mammalian invention called a mobile phone to call soone here. And now, before that person could even start talking, they were sitting awkwardly alone on the three-seater sofa against the opposite wall. I stared at the large mammal sitting in a certain posture, and eventually I couldn't hold it in any longer and asked.
"You're indoors—what with the sunglasses?"
According to an instinct from my brain, sothing about the other person's outfit felt seriously off. As I opened the conversation this way, Kang Changho adjusted his pitch-black accessory and finally spoke his first words.
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