Chapter 359. No Way
I wonder what I was thinking about before I fell asleep last night. Unfortunately, I can't rember, but I do know that a bout 240 minutes have passed since my last activity.
Tskkk, tskkk, tskkk.
I had been trying to restore my disrupted daily rhythm after two months of research.
Today was a Wednesday morning. I woke up to the alarm I had set in advance. Just the fact that the day's na conta ined the character 'water' was enough to put in a strangely good mood.
[National Tax Service]
Contrary to my expectations, a ssage had arrived on my phone, which had just turned on.
The National Tax Service, all of a sudden?
[Inquiry phone number: 1588-***, ***-***]
'Could this be a scam? Hunters' inco tax is deducted in advance when we work anyway...'
This was a world where so-called "spam ssages" were common. So normally, when an unknown ssage arrived, I didn't pay much attention to it. But this ti, for so reason, I felt an odd sense of unease. Thinking "just in case," I decided to try using the contact number written there. When I called the so-called inquiry number, it didn't take long b efore a familiar phrase reached my ears.All our operators are soone's family or friend. If you continue to use abusive language, the call may be terminated.
By the ti that ssage ended, a male operator picked up. But to my surprise—as soon as the safety identification w as completed with my resident registration number and a few other details, the operator, in a very friendly voice, gave the following information.
Ah-- you're calling about overseas inco reporting. In fact, you can't make the paynt right now, but for hunters li ke you with a large tax amount, we've been giving advance notifications as a precaution.
"Yes?"
Kim Giryeo-ssi, it has been confird that starting from February next year, you will be taxed 40,035,248,900 won.
"Yes?"
Of course, installnt paynts are also possible.
This operator...
What on earth has he been rambling about this whole ti?
?-I had taxes I still needed to pay separately?"
I nearly violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act—aning, I almost swore into the receiver. But since I could n't bring myself to dump my stress on an innocent office worker, I calmly ended the call and checked the recorded co nversation that had been saved.
But no matter how many tis I checked, I hadn't misheard it. The three-character na Kim Giryeo currently had an additional tax assessnt attached to it.
.......,
40 billion 1
.......,
I was so shocked that a certain word kept echoing in my mind.
"That much?"
Anyway...what kind of bolt-from-the-blue situation is this supposed to be?
***
[Text ssage]
[Sender: Hunter Kim Giryeo]
[Subject: Please Save ]
A few hours later.
Seoul. The Hunter Association branch south of the Han River.
"Hello. First of all, did you have a chance to check the text I sent?"
"Yes?"
"I'm here because, as I wrote in that ssage, I need your help."
Let say in advance—there are only so many people an outsider can rely on. As soon as a certain alien realized the crisis had arrived, they ca here. Fortunately, even though it was a weekday, the other party readily made ti for th em. So, just as they had always done before, they were able to talk during the lunch break.
"Hunter Kim Giryeo, just so you know, I'm not a national tax officer."
"I know."
"Did you co to even knowing that this isn't my area of expertise?"
"You're a friend I made precisely to use in situations like this—so if not now, then when?"
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I think you've learned the word 'friend' a bit strangely."
Standing before the alien, governnt official Seonwoo Yeon was a peculiar expression.
"Is that so? Well, we can fix my word choice later. For now—this is urgent—"
But before she could express her feelings, the other person spoke first.
"Seonwoo Yeon-ssi, do you happen to know how to issue a joint certificate?"
"Yes."
"Then could you make one under my na for ? I need to check sothing, and I was told that it's required."
Standing before her was clearly a young man who had even dyed his hair for style. Yet sohow, in that mont, Seo nwoo Yeon was suddenly reminded of her late grandfather. Still, there was no ti to be lost in thought.
"Alright. Please wait just a mont. I'll run and grab my laptop right away."
Even though he's expressionless, I can practically feel him pacing back and forth—so it must be a really urgent matter.
The association's official, Seonwoo Yeon, eventually grabs her personal PC.
"Hunter, just so you know, later you'll need to change the password to sothing only you know. This is a really impor tant certificate, so it must never be leaked to anyone."
"Yes."
"By the way, where did you say your main account is?"
"It's the Sunhwan Bank."
The friendly Earth official still hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation at this point.
"Yes. The issuance is complete for now, and the national tax you're curious about can be checked on the website by c licking these buttons here and here..."
But as the process went on, that familiar number gradually ca into view.
"Huh? One transaction from a company called Imabari, with 100 billion in inco? Could this be the settlent from th e Kagoshima Gate operation?"
"Probably."
A scale that even B-rank hunters couldn't imagine. The woman with long black hair glanced at the screen once more a nd engaged in the conversation calmly.
"Well, anyway, the inco from overseas hunting usually results in taxes popping up at rather unexpected tis like t his."
"..."
"The reason is nothing special. It's just that in the past, a certain country caused a major issue when settling accounts for overseas hunters..."
"..."
"Now, since the procedure has to go through the international association, things have gotten a bit complicated... But as far as I know, if you just apply for a deferral, you can pay in May like an ordinary sole proprietor."
But that wasn't the main issue.
"So what exactly is the problem that brought you here so urgently?"
"The tax... I think the number is wrong. The amount seems off..."
Seonwoo Yeon blinked her clear eyes and began explaining the situation.
"So, the amount actually paid by Imabari is different from this?"
"No."
"Then what's so strange?"
"The part where 40% of the inco I earned is taken as tax..."
But she never imagined that this was the reason she had co.
"Hunter, it's because you earn a lot of money. That's how it usually is for high earners."
"That's how it is?!"
Click, click.
It was around the ti the Alphasri raised his voice. The good-natured local, anwhile, operated the laptop and assi sted him wholeheartedly.
"Anyway, if the sa amount was actually settled, then this tax rate is exactly correct."
"Is that correct? Really...?"
"When the National Tax Service sends you a notice next year, take it to a professional tax agent. I can tell you a few pl aces I know."
By the way, she knows that even under normal circumstances, S-rank hunters pay quite a lot in taxes. That's because they have to pay huge fees every ti they handle high-value dungeon loot. So why is that alien making such a fuss o nly now?
"Hmm?"
Since her family had been in the car business, Seonwoo Yeon knew a little about tax law. As she ran various thoughts through her mind, she suddenly felt a sense of puzzlent.
Moreover, when she glanced back, she saw the expressionless man standing there, holding his breath. With a sense o f "could it be...?", Seonwoo Yeon asked him a question.
"By the way, do you have money to pay next year's taxes?"
No answer ca.
"You do, right...?"
It's hard to imagine a more frightening situation than this. In front of the low fence of the Hunter Association, two peop le suddenly shivered in fear. The woman with black hair added, her voice trembling like a goat's.
"You earned 10 billion won this year, so why on earth do you have enough money to pay taxes? A, and, just how big i s the shortfall?"
"According to my bank balance, I'm currently down about 30 billion won."
Oh my god. Seeing Seonwoo Yeon utterly shocked, the alien nervously revealed the truth.
"The 100 billion I received from Imabari was almost entirely spent at once just to make these gloves."
Now that she looked at it, his hands were covered with black leather gloves. The weather has been cold lately anyway, and judging by the thick, glossy leather wrapping his hands, it looked like really high-quality material.
But that's not what's important right now.
"Th, then, how about at least selling that to raise so cash? No matter how much of an S-rank hunter you are, gener ating that much inco all at once seems... well, sothing's off..."
"Would it be difficult?"
"The frequency of high-difficulty gates is always increasing, but that doesn't an the danger level of monsters is pro portional to the price of their loot..."
This is a serious problem. Seonwoo Yeon suggested the simple solution of selling the [Midnight Gloves], but that was a choice the alien couldn't make.
"We can't sell this on Earth."
The [Midnight Gloves] are essentially a semi-automatic handgun. Handing such over-tech straight to primitive humans who are starting a campfire would be dangerously reckless.
"If a clever mammal got their hands on it for research, it would be the end of everything."
Cold sweat ran down Kim Giryeo's gaunt face.
"Besides, it's also difficult to sell the new house I just bought. The price includes the acquisition tax and the fees for hir ing a notary, so I'd be completely at a loss."
How on earth did this day co to this?
"This is the governnt's fault! You should have warned in advance that I'd have to pay such a huge amount."
"Calm down."
"How could an alien know this?"
Whispering.
Kim Giryeo whispered urgently to Seonwoo Yeon. As he suddenly closed the distance, the Earthling showed a hint of discomfort—but it didn't last long.
"Huh? Wait a mont. Hunter Kim Giryeo, I checked because sothing seed off."
"What?"
"The National Tax Service already sent a related notice several months ago. The record appears right here."
Tak.
Seonwoo Yeon pointed to one side of the screen with the cursor and spoke.
"...To be precise, it was sent to the mailbox of the one-room apartnt that collapsed in an accident while back..."
A brief chill hung in the air between them.
"Hunter Kim Giryeo."
"Yes."
"By the way, since your place collapsed back then, you've probably moved recently, right?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry to ask this now, but do you happen to know about the concept of a change of address?"
"I don't know."
The situation was getting more and more complicated.
"Ah... So the mail from the National Tax Service...!"
The Earthling, having grasped the situation, opened their mouth in surprise. By this point, even a mage scholar could, with their usual intuition, spot the problem.
"B, but don't they usually send notifications like this to your phone? Wait a minute... Here, there's a record of the taxes you paid when you worked as a delivery rider, Kim Giryeo-ssi."
"Really?"
"If that's the case, you must have registered a contact number as well."
Soone's phone had broken after being caught in a downpour.
"Did the text ssage arrive at that ti?"
Goodness. There was so much negligence on the taxpayer's side.
"In that case, I can't just lie down and bla the governnt blindly."
But there's still a way out. The alien had, through their activities, accumulated debts to two countries.
"Let's contact Andy Oliver right away and demand the money! And if it's hard to get it from one side, we can just a care Imabari a bit and make them cough up another 20 billion—it'll be fine!"
A- Japanese S-rank hunter, Ion. And the son of the founder of PIXY, one of the wealthiest individuals in the U.S., amon g others. How many people in the world could actually reach such famous figures directly? Kim Giryeo had acquired t he personal contacts of these two giants at the Tokyo Expo and during the [Knight's Oath] threat incident. Sohow, he had beco incredibly well-connected.
[Andy: Hello, Giryeo from Korea. Let's start with a response to your inquiry.]
Once again, the alien keenly felt the harsh realities of the world.
In this world, no matter what it is, very little actually goes according to an individual's will.
User Comments
0 comments from readers