Chapter 418. For Sale / Hydra / Mint Grade (2)
Weren't the items we got this ti just aid at the global market to sell them for the highest price possible?
So you can't just sell poison items dostically.
Beep, beep, beep.
But if there's a gap in mory, it can be resolved with a fairly simple thod.
"Huh?"
"Is this a business call?"
"This is..."
"Feel free to take it and co back."
"Ah... th, then I'll just excuse myself for a mont."
The person sitting across from is the leader of a major guild—but then again, it would be stranger if this situation wasn't happening.
"As expected, such a busy person barely gets a mont to rest from calls. With a body like Se Esther's, there's no way I'd switch even if it killed ."
Ssskh.
It was a brief mont while an Earthling had stepped away. I quickly pulled out my phone and looked up the poison item regulations of a specific country.
"Oh, this is it."
The results that ca up were a few online articles containing the keyword "reservoir."
"How on earth did Ahn Yoonseung end up being born in a neighborhood with so many truly strange people?"
And roughly summarizing the contents of the reports, South Korea had apparently heightened its awareness of "poison items" due to a certain incident...
"Fortunately, it seems no one was actually hurt in that incident, though."
To clarify upfront, the sale of [Hydra] items wasn't completely banned in the country. However, due to various incidents, the reputation of this attribute had suffered. Ordinary people reportedly often cast disapproving glances at hunters who relied on poison items. Moreover, the Hunter Association kept a wary eye on artifacts that continuously produced large amounts of deadly toxins, restricting their trade to prevent dangerous materials from accumulating dostically. In such a thorny environnt, who would willingly focus on poison equipnt?
"Because of the longsword's nature, you inevitably deal damage one-on-one inside Gates. So honestly, when hunting animals there are plenty of better choices than [Hydra]."
No matter where in the universe you go, in any business involving money, marketing is key. But in the dostic market, collectors of a certain attribute had already beco scarce.
"The custor base is far too narrow."
Either way, I'd have to go abroad for sales because of the potential profit. I gathered my thoughts and slipped my phone into my pocket.
"Sorry! I'm really late, aren't I?"
At the sa mont, the guild owner flung the door open and hurried back into the room.
"What is it?"
Hair that is always wavy, as if regularly maintained. Fair skin. And, well, other various features.
Well, it had only been a few seconds since we parted, so nothing could have changed significantly in that ti.
"What is it?"
It was a subtle difference. As soon as she returned from taking an unknown call outside, Seo Esther began to show a strangely altered expression.
"Ah, to continue from where we left off, the [Hydra] we acquired will have its stats revealed just as Giryeo appraised them."
She definitely seed to be troubled by sothing.
"And of course, I'll handle the profit distribution on my end first, but you should also have your accountant on your side..."
Moreover, the strange atmosphere itself seed to settle around us. I was certain I had experienced sothing like this before.
"Did you happen to hear so bad news in the article you just read outside?"
Could Kang Changho be the culprit again? By the way, the only ti she, who was usually cheerful, completely failed to manage her expression was when so praise-related news ca out about soone. So I inferred that a similar reason was at play this ti and imdiately asked.
"Yes? An article? What article?"
"No. Nothing."
But my guess was slightly off.
"Looks like this ti it's not that third S-rank issue."
The awakened person in the main seat widened their eyes as if to say, What kind of nonsense are you talking about?
"Wait a minute, but isn't this a story that shouldn't warrant that much of an unfamiliar reaction?"
Then what could have upset Esther today? It wasn't because she had been contacted by a reporter. And since she was earning money as an active S-rank hunter, it definitely couldn't have been due to unpaid dues left to subcontractors at the Korea Magic Tower.
"It's just that when Director Esther ca back after taking a call, you looked upset."
"Ah, aah."
"I was just curious about why you were in that state, so I brought up so small talk."
I didn't beat around the bush and just asked the person directly.
"Oh my, this... I never ant to bother you."
At this, Seo Esther reacted. It was clear that sothing was indeed going on.
"I've been socially awkward in front of guests again."
"It's okay."
"I'd really appreciate your kind understanding, but—"
Click.
Unable to continue the conversation without a drink, Seo Esther hurriedly quenched her thirst by refilling water from a nearby dispenser. Once back in the room, she paused for a mont. But as I waited patiently, a far more interesting topic—well beyond trivial guesses—suddenly ca up.
"You're revealing this now? Actually, I once kind of lied a lie in front of you, Giryeo-ssi."
"A lie?"
"Was it around the beginning of this year? Anyway, during the first field class, I kept thinking about other things and had a sulky expression. The reason back then was actually exactly the sa as it is now."
Oh my.
So what she's saying is that, even back during that winter training—which she can barely rember now—she was actually caught up in so kind of problem.
So then, was that ntion about having seen Kang Changho's article just a simple excuse?
For a mont, that thought crossed my mind—but the Earth woman in front of soon started explaining herself. Of course, the incident back when the ex-convict was plastered all over various dia had been annoying, sure. Still, she clarified that the main reason for her nervous breakdown was sothing else entirely. And yet, it turned out that the true nature of that months-long incident was this.
"A proposal? You an... Hunter Esther, are you saying you've just received a marriage proposal?"
A marriage proposal. The word, sothing I could never have imagined, made montarily dumbfounded. Yet, while the person herself didn't look particularly happy, from an alien's perspective, it was actually a matter one couldn't help but feel a little hopeful about.
"Still, soone like Esther is responsible and takes good care of at least her own people."
For reference, the offspring of a high-grade mutant likewise have a high probability of enduring awakening phenona.
"Rather than having more reckless, irresponsible types running around, it's actually more reassuring to see a verified mage like her starting a family!"
At this mont, the corpse owner's mind conjured up the nasty word "eugenics," but there was no real intention to belittle ordinary people, so it was fine for now. The reason I viewed this situation positively was purely because of the other person's character.
"Compared to the past, you can't determine superiority with just magic anymore—there are surprisingly too many talented non-awakened individuals in this world."
On top of that, there's no rule that a sorcerer's child has to beco a sorcerer either.
A little later, I asked—with a hint of anticipation—"So, are you going to get married?"
"Well, what can I do! Ugh! Just thinking about that matter makes my blood boil!"
"I'm sorry."
But what ca back was an angry, thunderous rebuke.
"Hmm."
Summing up what Seo Esther said next, the reason she had been upset during the first half of this year was due to a certain conflict that had dragged on.
"In any case, to put it as simply as possible, there were so situations recently where I might have been misunderstood."
"Misunderstanding?"
The series of events she had gone through can be summarized roughly like this.
First: An S-rank awakener from abroad, whose face she barely knew, started occasionally contacting her privately after eting the Korea Magic Tower representative at a social gathering. In other words, a new acquaintance was ford.
Second: They had been maintaining a casual, "just checking in" type of relationship, when suddenly the foreign awakener unexpectedly proposed eting with marriage in mind.
"To add so context from the perspective of that S-rank instigator, high-ranking awakeners have a hard ti being close to lower ranks like F. Since they tend to stick with their own kind anyway, it was probably an argunt to try getting along with soone compatible like themselves..."
But by the third stage of the process, the relationship between the two awakeners had sharply deteriorated. The [Korea Magic Tower] representative in front of had absolutely no intention of marriage.
"Phew."
To put it bluntly, Esther had casually rejected a certain awakener's request. But shortly after turning down that proposal, the additional explanation, it turned out that Esther, ever since the early days of her awakening with the series of misfortunes...
"Misfortunes?"
"Yeah— Well, from what I can tell, it's probably just one of those 'three calamity years' or sothing like that."
"My frequently used equipnt suddenly broke. Then tripping over dungeon terrain, falling, and so on... Wait, an S-rank awakened?"
The streak of misfortune occurred almost simultaneously with the failed proposal. On top of that, the person who had rejected him was none other than the world's top [Curse] specialist. Considering all the circumstances, it seed that Seo Esther was currently suffering from this kind of misunderstanding.
"So the other party mistakenly thought that you cast a [Curse]."
"On top of that, they actually believed it as the truth and even spread false rumors in the Western hunter community!"
"A false rumor?"
"They're saying I keep going around harassing people I don't like!"
It was certainly understandable for her to feel upset. However, unfortunately, Esther was in no position to completely shake off that nasty rumor.
"Moreover, the frustrating part is that, truthfully, this is half my own karma."
"In what part?"
"Giryeo-ssi, really... you already know everything, and yet you casually ask again."
By the way, at first, I wondered what was going on. But as the conversation went deeper, I quickly got the hang of it. From the additional explanation, it turned out that Esther, ever since the early days of her awakening with the [Curse] ability, had been playing tricks on people more often than they realized...
"It's just a common part of the growth process that novice mages go through."
Moreover, I think she might have pulled a stunt like that on , but I must have shrugged it off easily since I'm fairly immune. Anyway, let's set that past aside for now.
"But right now, I'm really feeling wronged!"
"Because it wasn't sothing you did yourself?"
"True, but more importantly, I never play pranks that could seriously harm soone."
"You just said you made Jeong Haseong fall, didn't you?"
"No, wait, Giryeo-ssi, if an S-rank collided with this company's lobby, which side do you think would end up broken?"
Sohow, the woman—whose roots showed a few strands of bright sky-blue hair—added angrily. Back in her school days, she had detested bullying classmates and had even smacked those acting like so-called delinquents with a tal pencil case. But she would really pick on others and cause them pain just because of an unwanted confession? That, roughly, was the nature of Esther's self-defense.
"Moreover, back in her school days, that fellow probably got a punch straight to the jaw. Logically speaking, so kind of disciplinary action would've been justified."
It doesn't seem like sothing to brag about... In any case, all of these statents were evidence that she was fixated on doing what's right. No wonder Esther seed even more displeased with the current situation.
"Ah! If only I could've borrowed that [Justitia] in one piece... No, no. But honestly, when you think about it, how could you even make use of such expensive equipnt over such a trivial misunderstanding? Right?"
Muttering to herself.
After flaring up for a while, the Magic Tower's owner finally cald her breathing.
"And anyway,"
The next thing that ca out was the guild master's cautious remark.
"I originally intended to keep this personal matter from others."
More precisely, it seed that she had no intention of telling .
"From what I've heard, it seems that S-rank is going to show up at this world artifact auction."
"Hmm."
"Well, that... it's the self-important photographer who has had a bit of friction with ."
"Yes."
"But just because I don't want to face one person, I can't pass this task onto the busy Rank 1. At the sa ti, I can't just go alone into the midst of the Western S-rank, where all those nasty rumors are swirling..."
Sskh.
I straightened my posture a bit while leaning on the sofa. Then I chid in, responding to Esther's story.
"Are you worried that if you go alone, you might get lynched?"
But the answer I got was...
"I can't say about a lynch. I'm hesitating because the mont I see that jerk who spits garbage with his mouth, I feel like I'll actually cast a curse on him."
True, that's quite a frightening scenario in multiple ways. South Korea only has exactly four S-ranks Hunters, and if their leader is one active mber, two ex-convicts, and one retiree, wouldn't that be a huge problem?
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