The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood Chapter 426. There are two ways to achieve peace (3)

Chapter 426. There are two ways to achieve peace (3)

Esther remained with her arms crossed, lost in thought. And as the silence stretched on, the blonde Korean standing before her once again held the item out.

***

How on earth did things end up like this? By now, the Guild Master of the Korean Magic Tower was probably thinking just that.

'I didn't use magic to check, but even an archmage usually has a sense for these things...'

In that case, it seed it would take quite so ti before an answer ca. Even just to hide the awkwardness of my outstretched hand, I had to take this mont to dig through my mory a bit.

'Let's see.'

First of all, with all sorts of world artifacts—including the [Hydra]—about to be revealed, the S-rank hunters had gathered around this building. So just by loitering near the lobby, I could easily run into the foreign hunter I was targeting again.

Excuse ! Sir with the glasses over there, I hope I'm not being rude, but could you talk with for a mont?Hiik!Ah, overacting. Honestly, you're making want to use my powers right from the start.

After reuniting with the suitor, a few minutes of ordinary conversation passed.

Hunter Esther, the thod I've thought of is sothing I'd like to save for as long as possible. I'm sorry, but for now, could we try to work things out through conversation first?Oh, if our Giryeo-ssi says so, then of course...

In fact, even that brief, dry greeting had only happened because I suggested it, but in any case, I rember that there were no issues up to that point.

But the trigger for the situation to worsen ca imdiately after that.

'From what I've heard, that woman was willing to forgive as long as she received a proper apology.'

Right after eting the suitor with the black rim-rimd glasses, Esther insisted that she had never placed a [curse] and that she was only in trouble because of the rumors spread because of him, but...

As you can see, the result wasn't good. The foreign man who had once proposed marriage to her firmly maintained his stance, saying, "Today as well, there was misfortune that makes suspect a curse," and showed no sign of relenting.

How can a person be this rude! I was told that South Korea still values manners as an Eastern country, but that's complete nonsense now.What did you say?I didn't even do anything to harm you. I just made a single wrong move, and you're making things this difficult? Listen—every ti we were in the sa country, a taxi accident happened like clockwork. If that isn't a [curse], then what is?If it's not a [curse], then it's just terrible luck. Why are you asking about sothing I have no idea about?

No matter how much they talked, they couldn't reach an agreent—understandably, given the situation, a verbal clash between the parties was bound to happen.

Everyone, please don't fight.

It was around that ti.

Please don't fight and listen to just this once.

And I rummaged around in the pocket of my jeans and pulled sothing out...

Standing quietly beside them, I decided it was ti to use my last resort and finally stepped into the conversation. Then I rummaged through my jeans pocket and pulled sothing out...

'If only I hadn't been unlicensed, I would've confidently moved it to the item box.'

I rembered it clearly. It was around that mont that the [Fairy's Promise] had appeared right here.

'Artifacts that require mutual consent have a low likelihood of causing lethality even if they fall into the hands of a non-magic user. At least individually. That's why, thanks to this, anyone could buy them just by paying money, without having to et any qualifications.'

In fact, I had quietly purchased this item here without informing my Korean colleague. Moreover, the reason I had rushed to buy a tourist-only bait that was a whopping 100 million higher than the average price... Well, there was no need to explain it in detail.

'Hmm.'

Co to think of it, the reason those Earthlings were fighting ultimately boiled down to just two things.

First, no one wanted to open their wallets because they'd feel unfairly treated if they suffered a financial loss despite being innocent. Second, the main obstacle was that the truth about the [curse] hadn't been revealed yet.

But what would happen if a third party like were to suddenly invent my own money—and even go so far as to hang this powerful promise item around my own neck?

'Most of the causes of the disputes that had been problematic until now would disappear.'

The only problem was that my F-rank days had lasted a bit too long. People like , who had accumulated the experience of the soul, already knew the power of cash all too well.

[Fairy's Promise].

This black collar, which was more than ten tis cheaper than the Ushtia rental fee, was an unequal magical tool where one party only had to pay the price. Therefore, it was usually not used for mutual promises. However, compared to other contract items, it had the advantage of allowing the penalty for violation to be set freely. That's how life works, in its own way.

'Now I don't even care about being frugal, and this amount is nothing—I can just earn it back. So I'll use it whenever I need to.'

—Seo Esther—the failed suitor. If I bound these three with the [Fairy's Promise], confirming the truth would be relatively quick. Assign Esther the role of 'master,' place the magic on the neck of her acquaintance (), and then have her answer whether or not a curse had been imposed as a clause. That's it.

'This way, there's nothing for anyone to feel uneasy about, and the truth can be revealed smoothly, right?'

As expected, I'm a genius. It was the very mont I lifted my head with that sense of pride.

'Isn't it?'

For so reason, the atmosphere still felt awkwardly quiet, and then, cutting through that silence, a piercing voice burst out.

"I don't want to!"

It was a single remark from Esther. The only problem was that all the color drained from her face, as if she had just witnessed the climax of a horror movie.

"How could I possibly dare to use such an item on you, Giryeo-ssi?"

"Hmm."

"Please take better care of yourself, okay? Contracts cost give penalties equally, even to S-ranks."

The word 'dare', huh. At first, I thought it was an exaggeration, but when I thought about it carefully, it was actually more fitting. I was the one who gave up my own food even when I was on the brink of starvation. And when that trio of beasts appeared, I was the one who stood firm and protected Korea—that must've left quite the impression too. Honestly, the na Kim Giryeo, this very body's na, was one worthy of respect. So it was only natural that Esther felt uneasy about using a leash from another world on .

'Besides, I've even been tutoring her lately. Strictly speaking, that makes her sumr break special lecturer, doesn't it?'

Understandably, it wouldn't matter if you were a reckless teacher demanding bribes. Then again, how many people in this world would want to harm their benefactor?

"Ugh."

"You don't want to?"

A mont later. The leader of a guild explained that she hated causing others harm over sothing so personal. It seed that, more than human social ethics, above all her high pride wouldn't allow that solution. But I spared no effort in trying every persuasion to resolve the situation.

"But still, there's no way the penalty will be triggered, right?"

That's why I went so far as to provide even the curse master just to verify the truth. Of course, since it was all done through a simple Q&A without using a single spell, there were still so lingering uncertainties.

'It would be pretty funny if it suddenly turned out that she really had cast the [curse] after all.'

Well, even in the worst-case scenario, there was still a way out.

'If that happens, I'll just pretend to be in pain, act like I was affected by the artifact, and stop being acquaintances with her...'

It's a sowhat extre thought, but if she had kept deceiving others to the end despite having many opportunities, I then the justification for siding with the curse master would certainly be weakened.

"Hmm."

Besides, I'd gone on and on in my head, laying out all sorts of future plans... But still, with the experience of a great mage, there was little chance my intuition was wrong—that primitive sorcerer must have told the truth after all.

'In this planet's slang, I think they called it 'experience'.

So I finished my brief thought. Then, with a 'don't worry' attitude, I casually handed the artifact's controls to her.

"Do you trust this much?"

In truth, it wasn't so much about trust as it was about being ready to pretend not to know her at any mont. Still, there was no need to ruin the current atmosphere. I simply gave a silent nod of agreent.

"Hmm..."

For reference, Esther had just been freaking out and refusing to use the artifact for quite a while.

Thanks to that, the situation seed to have naturally built a sense of credibility even for Leo, that foreigner.

I didn't expect it, but you're definitely right.

What followed were a few words spoken through a translation device.

The closer and more important the relationship between the people involved, the heavier the weight of an item like the Fairy's Promise becos.

Leo said.

So, Ms. Seo Esther, what do you plan to do? Don't tell you intend to refuse the proposal entirely just because there's a chance the artifact might activate?

The foreigner, who had been the one to propose, had already given a positive signal. And the awakened one with the purple hair, upon hearing those words, also nodded reluctantly. All that was left now was the final confirmation before using the item.

Hmm.Hey, my friend, I'll buy you a al later. So could you cross-check just once to make sure that artifact is genuine?So, you're asking to use my [Appraisal] skill.Exactly!In other words, you're trying to pay off with just a al for using this high-level technique that's certified as a Class S skill by international standards?Even if you say later that you want to eat an entire truffle whole, I'll get it for you, so just hurry up and do it.

After all, there's hardly any other profession in this world that needs appraisers as desperately as S-rank hunters do.

'Looks like he already knew soone here.'

Well, if they've even brought in an expert like that for cross-verification, then I guess...

"Th, the auction's about to start, so let's finish this quickly."

What followed next was a truth verification so anticlimactic that it hardly needed any explanation. To put it simply, we proved our innocence with sothing along the lines of, 'If Esther really did use a [curse], then Kim Giryeo will burn his hand over a fire.'

"Did you see it?"

Yes. No matter how many tis I check, the item is genuine... and even after Miss Esther made her declaration, no penalty was triggered.

To think that the proof beca this simple just because a single alien got involved.

By the way, is that Korean guy out of his mind? What on earth made him trust others enough to stick his own neck into such a high-penalty tool... ヽY, yeah.

In a way, this could be seen as the fate of modern society, where trust between neighbors has crumbled. But the affairs of Earthlings like that aren't exactly important right now.

'How many hundreds of millions were riding on that single exchange?'

Smrk.

After confirming that the contract mark had disappeared from my neck, Esther belt-belatedly began to assert her rights. Since it had been fully proven that she hadn't cast the [curse], she demanded that the offending party provide full compensation.

Hmm.

However, I had expected the suitor to put up so resistance around this point...

Understood.

Things went even better than I expected. The awakened one with the black-rimd glasses offered the long-awaited apology—and even proposed an unexpected compensation plan.

"He's even offering to cover the money I spent to buy the [Fairy's Promise]?"

Just a mont ago, he was being so stingy, though.

The reason I had nitpicked every single proposal for verifying the truth was entirely out of fear.

"Fear?"

When I imagined that soone might have secretly cast a curse on ... suddenly, you, Esther, started to seem like such a cunning and terrifying awakened being.

"Huh, really."

No matter how much you tried to prove the truth, I kept thinking you'd choose your words just slightly differently when answering, to deceive .

"?"

I was consud by endless doubt, which is why I said I couldn't make any paynts lightly. But seeing how things have unfolded now, it seems I can no longer avoid taking responsibility.

As the other side lowered their stance, Esther's expression softened a little.

'Well, at least this won't end in murder.'

Fortunately, it seems she's only written the character for 'patience' twice so far

I apologize.Even for daring to speak ill of , who am innocent?"Actually, that too got distorted as the story spread overseas, I absolutely had no bad intentions.

"Then why did the rumor spread?"

Because if you die from a [curse], there won't be any traces of foul play. I only told my acquaintances to make sure an investigation would be done properly if sothing happened to ...

"You've really got a lot of nerve, don't you."

"You're really doing all sorts of things."

Then, the misunderstanding has been resolved safely.

Everything that's happened so far was simply the result of acting out of fear. I never tried to give you a hard ti out of resentnt for rejecting .

"Alright, understood. Anyway, don't forget to mobilize all your SNS and anything else to correct the false rumors."

Yes... Uh, wait a mont. But if you don't use any skill, then all the misfortunes I've been experiencing lately... What on earth were they?

"Maybe you got possessed by a ghost or sothing."

Gasp!

"Do you know any shamans around here?"

A... a dium?

While the parties were deep in conversation, I quietly looked at over the foreign awakened one who had been at the center of the [curse] misunderstanding. Judging by the atmosphere, it seed I no longer had to worry about another criminal record being added in Korea.

"Then, can I start focusing on my own interests now?"

Sssk.

'Later, if I end up alone with that person, I should ask why he chose to propose to Esther out of all the hunters.'

I must have stared too intently, because it seed like he was starting to notice my gaze—but it still wasn't the right ti to speak.

'Even in books, it's hard to learn things like this honestly, and I'm genuinely curious about what elents of their own kind Earthlings find attractive.'

A rare case of a mammal extrely eager to form a family.

'It's information I don't need, but for the sake of my previous acquaintances, it might be knowledge I could use soday...'

Our countries might be a bit different, but still, if we're both human, there should be sothing to learn from it.